Once Upon a Time in Italy
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: After six months, Edge came back after a career threatening injury and made an impact by winning the 2010 Royal Rumble.  But on a tour in Europe, everything is ripped away when he is taken.  With time against them, can he be found before it's too late?
1. Prologue

**Once Upon a Time in Italy**

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE. And we do love Edge, we really do! Don't let this story fool you, lol.

**Summary**: After six months, Edge came back to the WWE after a career threatening injury and made an impact by winning the 2010 Royal Rumble. But on a tour in Europe, everything is ripped away when he is taken and tortured. With time working against him, can he be found before it's too late?

**Characters**: Edge, Christian, Chris Jericho, The Miz, CM Punk

**Pairings**: Edge/OC, Christian/OC, Miz/OC, possible Punk/OC

**Rating**: Higher T

**Genre**: Drama/Suspense

**Warnings**: Violence (nothing very graphic), language, and a couple suggestive adult moments

**Author's Note**: Wow, what can I say about this story? For starters, despite the title, it is not a fairy tale. Lol! It's based on a dream I had, and really just to answer my own questions about the events of the dream, this story was started. It's co-written with a good friend of mine **x0allisonqt0x **(who is Allison in this story), and after six months of coming up with theories, planning, writing, and more planning to make it as realistic as possible, we're glad to unleash our "little monster," which we mean in the most loving of ways. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer from this! There will be clues as to who's behind everything that happens and why, so keep an eye out to see if you can figure it out. Enjoy!

**OCs**

**_Susannah  
_**Boyfriend: _Adam Copeland (Edge)_**_  
_**Hair: _light brown_  
Eyes: _hazel  
_Personality: _outgoing, artistic, empathetic_  
Interests: _creative writing, sketching  
_Favorite movie: "_The Crow"_  
Favorite book: "_Dracula," Bram Stoker_  
Favorite song: _"Metalingus," Alter Bridge; "Blackbird," Alter Bridge_

**_Allison  
_**Boyfriend: _Jay Reso (Christian)  
_Hair: _brown  
_Eyes: _dark brown  
_Personality: _klutzy, funny, caring/sensitive_  
Interests: _dancing, watching wrestling  
_Favorite movie: "_Titanic"_  
Favorite book: _"Nineteen Minutes," Jodi Picoult_  
Favorite song: _anything by Alanis Morissette_

**_Anna  
_**Boyfriend: _Mike Mizanin (The Miz)  
_Hair: _brown highlighted blonde  
_Eyes: _brown  
_Personality: _loud around friends but quiet around strangers, likes to make things difficult, protective of friends and family_  
Interests: _nature/animals, Mike_  
Favorite movie: "_Flipper"_  
Favorite book: _"Hush, Hush," Becca Fitzpatrick_  
Favorite song: _"Livin' on a Prayer," Bon Jovi_

**_Jillian  
_**Boyfriend: _likes Phil Brooks (CM Punk)  
_Hair: _brown  
_Eyes: _brown  
_Personality:_ clumsy, caring, fun_  
Interests: _dancing, singing_  
Favorite movie: "_Meet the Parents"_  
Favorite book: _"Handle With Care," Jodi Picoult_  
Favorite song: _anything by Nickelback_

_Prologue_

_Three... two... one._

Adam Copeland sighed as he stood backstage with the the last few superstars waiting to enter the match. He hadn't been this nervous, or this excited, since coming back from his previous neck injury to step into the squared circle again. He rubbed his hands together as Kofi Kingston's music began, watching as he ran out at number twenty-seven to enter the Rumble. Only one person was left in front of him, and then he would be running out there too.

Number twenty-eight, Chris Irvine, otherwise known as Chris Jericho, looked over his shoulder at him. "You look nervous, Man," he muttered with a small smile. "Calm down."

"Yeah, I know," Adam replied, laughing a little. "I'm just more excited than anything. To have to wait this long..."

Chris smirked, watching as the clock continued to wind down until he was supposed to run out. "Well, you don't have much longer to wait now," he told him as the time reached ten seconds.

Adam nodded, quickly looking to his right when he felt a gentle hand wrap around his. He smiled broadly when he saw Susannah, his girlfriend of three years, smiling back up at him. "Almost time," she said with excitement.

_Five... four..._

Chris watched as Adam pulled Susannah closer to him, running his fingers through her hair before softly kissing her. "Almost," he agreed quietly.

_Three... two... one._

The buzzer sounded from the arena before "Break the Walls Down" began to play, and Chris dropped his gaze as he turned away from the couple and walked out onto the ramp to enter the match. Adam sighed as he watched him leave. He was next.

Susannah wrapped her arms around him tightly in anticipation, her eyes glowing. In a little over a minute, her boyfriend would be returning to the WWE after a career-threatening injury, a moment she had been waiting for all during the rehab process. "This is it," she muttered, the smile never leaving her face. "After everything you had to go through, this is going to be simply amazing..."

Adam smiled down at her. "You mean everything _we_ had to go through," he corrected.

"Ah, I just helped," Susannah replied, laying her head on his chest.

Before Adam could tell her she had done much more than that for him, he looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps, and he smiled as he watched Jay Reso, his best friend otherwise known as Christian, walk over to them. He had the ECW Championship he had successfully retained earlier that night over one shoulder, his girlfriend of two years, Allison, wrapped in his other arm. With them was her older sister Jillian.

"Hey, Man, had to watch this closer up," Jay said with a broad smile.

Adam nodded as he looked at the man he considered to be his brother. "That means a lot," he replied truthfully.

_Ten... nine..._

"Make Edge's comeback amazing," Jay told him, laughing a little as he shook the other man's hand.

_Eight... seven..._

"Oh, I will," Adam assured him. "Just wait, Jay. I've been waiting for this moment for months."

_Six... five..._

"Good luck, Adam!" Allison said happily, giving him a quick hug. "Not that you really need it..."

"Thanks, Allie," Adam replied as he let go, wrapping his arms around Jillian as she gave him a hug next.

"I can't wait to see this!" she added, a broad smile on her face as she stood back next to her sister.

"Well, I'll make it awesome." Adam smirked before he looked back at Susannah when she took his hand again.

"I love you," she muttered, brushing some of his damp hair out of his face before setting her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be watching and cheering for you from back here, and I'll be waiting for you after."

_Four... three... two..._

Adam smiled. "I'll look for you," he whispered. Then, he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss.

_One._

The buzzer sounded, and _You think you know me_ echoed around the arena. Adam broke the kiss, resting his hand on Susannah's cheek for a second as "Metalingus" began to play, and he turned and walked out onto the ramp to enter the match to a thunderous crowd.

* * *

Adam stood in the center of the ring, pointing up at the Wrestlemania sign as sparks flew around it. He couldn't keep the broad smile off his face as his theme music and the cheering of the crowd both echoed loudly around him, almost mingling together in his mind. It was exhilarating- returning to the WWE after his Achilles tendon injury and winning the 2010 Royal Rumble. He had tried to ready himself for the return since he had been told he was going to win two days before by coming in at number twenty-nine, but nothing could have prepared him for the reception the fans had given him. He stood on the turnbuckle and threw his hands up, watching as some fans returned his hand sign while others jumped up and down and cheered. They were just as excited as he was that he was going to headline Wrestlemania 26.

He finally rolled out of the ring, the crowd's energy not wavering as he made his way up the ramp. Once he got to the top, Adam stopped and once again turned around to face the crowd, watching as cameras flashed everywhere around him as the cheering continued. It was at that moment he knew it was one of the most exciting nights of his career, one he was sure was shared with the girl waiting for him.

He then turned and went backstage, smiling when other superstars who had been eliminated earlier stopped and congratulated him on winning and his return. But he continued to look through the bustling crowd of faces, not spotting the one he wanted to see most. She should have been there somewhere. She had told him she would be waiting.

"Congratulations."

Adam stopped, turning to look behind him when he heard the voice of his former tag team partner and the first man he had eliminated. "Thanks," he replied, the broad smile still on his face. "Tonight has been amazing."

Chris nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I bet," he muttered. "I mean, you come back after injury, win the Rumble by eliminating _me_ and John Cena..."

Sighing, Adam ran his hand through his hair. "Look, Man," he said. "I know you were originally supposed to win and all, but creative thought this was the best route to take."

"I know." Chris gave him a smile. "And I agree. Welcome back, Man." He held out his hand. Adam shook it.

"Adam!"

The smile returned to Adam's face, and he turned to watch as Susannah hurried toward him. This was who he had been looking for. "Hey, girl!"

Susannah smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug, laughing when Adam lifted her up and spun her around once before setting her back on her feet. "You looked great out there," she told him with excitement, her smile lingering as Adam kept his arms around her waist. "I am _so_ proud of you, Addy! That crowd was electric!"

"You're telling me," Adam replied. "You should hear them out there."

"I have a pretty good idea from back here," Susannah said, shaking her head as she too couldn't stop smiling. "Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still screamed when you won."

Adam laughed a little as he brushed some of her brown hair out of her face. Her continuous, avid support was something he loved about her. She was absolutely beaming. "You know I couldn't have done it without you," he muttered. The months he was out on injury had been some of the hardest of his life. Not only had they been painful as his tendon had to reattach, but he had also been filled with doubt, a feeling that had been very unsettling to him.

The girl he held in his arms had been his saving grace. She had been there for him through the entire healing and rehab process, being his source of strength and comfort. She had put faith in him when he lost it in himself, supporting him when he needed it most. It had been a frustrating time for him, and he knew it hadn't been easy on her dealing with him all of the time either, but she had always been there, giving him unconditional love. And that was the most important thing for him.

Susannah wrapped her arms around him again, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I knew you could do it," she told him. "But that didn't make seeing you out there again any less exciting."

Adam smiled, leaning down and giving her a soft kiss. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too." Susannah smiled against his lips before giving him another slightly more passionate kiss, running her hand over his chin. "But as I've said before, you could shave this, though. Just saying."

"Yeah?" Adam ran his own hand over his beard. "Too much?"

"Just a bit," Susannah said with a wink.

Adam raised his eyebrows quickly. "Well, I guess I'll have to do something about that," he replied quietly, kissing his girlfriend's neck and making her laugh a little.

Susannah then smiled as she took her boyfriend's hand, turning to look at the other man still standing with them. "Hey, Chris. Good match tonight." She reached forward, giving him a one-armed hug. He had been one of her first friends in the WWE.

"Thanks, Susannah," Chris muttered with a small smile when she pulled away. "Almost wish I still would have won, but then Adam wouldn't have had this opportunity."

"I know it was a little disappointing that plans got changed last minute..." Susannah began.

"No, really, it's okay," Chris interrupted. "I'm happy it went this way." Then, he glanced at the nearby clock hanging on the wall, sighing almost nervously. "I'm gonna get going. I'll see you guys at the hotel later."

"Sounds good, Man," Adam replied. "Later."

The couple watched as the other man walked away before starting to head toward Adam's locker room. "I'm glad Chris isn't too upset about what happened," Susannah said thoughtfully.

"He'll be fine," Adam assured her, tightening his hand around hers as they reached the room. "It's just a storyline."

"That's true." Susannah watched Adam open the door, entering the room first since he held it open for her.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Adam muttered. Then, he pulled her up against him once they were both inside, holding her close as he brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Tonight is our night."

Susannah smirked as she placed her hand on his chest, Adam winking at her as he shut the door behind him.

**Author's Note**: Well, that's it for that one. Not much action yet, but it sets the tone for the rest of the story. Make sure to keep an eye out for clues as it progresses. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated, just no flames, please. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Hey! Glad you guys are liking this so far! It'll get more exciting, I promise. Thanks to **Sofa King We Todd Did**, **x0allisonqt0x**, **ExtremeDiva18**, **doreenthatshot**, and **FormerlyKnownasJackie **for your reviews! All I've gotta say is keep an eye out for more clues. Hope you enjoy!

_Chapter 1_

_Four months later..._

"Sleeping is _not awesome_!"

Jillian gasped and straightened up in her seat when she heard the loud voice from behind her, grumbling under her breath when she then heard the couple's laughter. She turned around in her seat, watching as Mike Mizanin, WWE's The Miz, high-fived his still laughing girlfriend, Anna. She had known the couple since they began dating since her younger sister Allie had been with Jay "Christian" Reso for the past two years, and she often went with them to shows.

"Thanks, Mike," she muttered irritably.

Mike gave her a fake pout. "Oh, did I make you mad?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Jillian..." He turned to his girlfriend of four months, wrapping his arm around her as she tried to suppress her laughter. "We didn't want you to miss the rest of the flight. It was in your best interest."

Jillian rolled her eyes, trying to force back a smile. She was just as excited as the couple about the upcoming shows. Though she usually traveled with Jay and Allie around the United States with the WWE when she could, doing a European tour was going to be a completely different experience. "So considerate of you, Mike."

"Hey, I do what I can," Mike told her with a smirk.

Laughing a little, Jillian turned and sat back down in her seat, picking up the pamphlet for the European tour she was keeping on the seat next to her and looking it over. They had a long flight ahead of them yet, but she couldn't wait to land in Italy, their first stop. It was going to be amazing.

Then, Jillian set it back down as she glanced at the four people who were sitting in two rows across from them. Feeling her eyes on him and having heard the earlier commotion, Adam Copeland glanced up from his seat across the aisle and gave her a small smile. Susannah straightened up in her seat beside him.

"What's going on over there?" she wondered.

"Oh, nothing unusual," Adam assured her as he turned back to her, taking her hand. "Mike just woke up Allie's sister."

"Well, I heard that," Susannah muttered. "I would know that voice anywhere." She leaned forward a bit to look at Jillian, smiling broadly and waving at her. "Poor girl getting harassed by Mike."

Adam laughed a little. "I think she'll be fine," he said, catching her lips in a quick but loving kiss as she leaned back in her seat. "Just means he likes her."

"Not to mention he considers her the odd one."

Both Susannah and Adam turned in their seats to look at the couple sitting behind them. Jay Reso smiled back at them, being the one who had spoken. Susannah considered him to be an older brother to her since he was Adam's best friend and brother figure, and they had gotten close. Wrapped in his arm was Allie, a girl Adam considered to be his sister and a good friend of Susannah's since they spent a lot of time together.

"True," Adam agreed with a smirk. "Very good point."

Allie laughed a little, making a face at Jillian before she looked at Susannah. "Aren't you glad we never had to really deal with Mike?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Susannah answered with a smile. "We were the originals."

"Yep." Allie smiled, turning to Jay and giving him a quick kiss.

Susannah then looked at Adam when he placed his hand on her hip and pulled her closer. "Not to mention he knows I would kick his ass," he added.

"Sure you would," Susannah replied with a teasing grin.

Jay laughed. "I don't know, Man," he muttered. "I think if Mike picked on her, she'd be more likely to kick his ass before you would."

"And whose side are you on exactly, Jay?" Adam wondered sarcastically, turning to look at his best friend. Jay just shrugged.

"Boys, huh, Allie?" Susannah said, shaking her head with a smile as she turned to look at the other girl.

Allie laughed. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em," she replied. Then, she shrieked and jumped when Jay poked her side. "What was that for?"

"Just what is that supposed to mean, Allie?" Jay asked, an almost convincing look of hurt in his eyes as he looked at his girlfriend.

"It means I love you anyway," Allie answered quietly, but she still smacked his arm for tickling her.

Jay smiled, catching her lips in a quick kiss. "Love you too, Allie."

Susannah smiled as she watched them for a moment longer before turning back in her seat when Adam did. "This is going to be a long plane ride," she muttered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Ah, come on, we're not that bad," Adam said, wrapping his arm around her as he placed his head against hers.

"No, I meant literally," Susannah replied with a quiet laugh. "Italy's a long way from here."

Adam smiled as he kissed his girlfriend's head. "Yeah, but it will be worth it," he told her quietly. "Italy is beautiful. You're going to love it."

Susannah looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Adam looked back down at her, meeting her lips in a soft but loving kiss. He pulled her closer when she reached up and ran her hand through his hair, about to try to deepen it. But then, he stopped when he felt her pull away. Sighing quietly, he looked over his shoulder to see Chris Irvine was walking down the aisle toward them to make his way to the back of the plane.

"Hey, Chris," Susannah said politely when his gaze landed on them.

Chris paused for a minute, a smile appearing on his face. "Hey, Susannah. Adam," he replied. "Enjoying the flight?"

Susannah shrugged as she returned the smile. "It's not so bad with this group," she told him. "How about you?"

"Same." Chris shrugged. "It's a long flight, though. Can't wait until we actually land."

"Yeah, I agree. Adam and I were just talking about that, actually," Susannah muttered. "I can't wait to see Italy!"

Chris smiled at her again. "You're going to love it," he said, a glint appearing in his eyes that she couldn't read. "Well, enjoy the rest of the flight. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Okay!" Susannah watched as he continued to walk to the back of the plane, a grin appearing on her face when Adam scooted a bit closer to her with a smirk.

"So, where were we?"

As the flight went on, the group started getting a bit more restless. Allie leaned back in her seat, her knees pushing against the one in front of her. She smirked slightly, her feet hitting the back of the seat a couple times as she continued to try to find a comfortable position. Finally, Adam turned a little in the seat, a look of feigned annoyance on his face.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to tell me why you're kicking my seat," he told her, holding up the correct amount of fingers for emphasis.

"Uh..." Allie watched as the man she considered her brother put his fingers down one at a time until he wasn't holding any up. Then, she shrieked when Adam got to his knees and reached back, starting to tickle her.

This woke Jay, who had fallen asleep leaning against the window, and he was startled when his girlfriend made her way onto his lap to try to get away from Adam. "What's... going on?" he asked quietly, wrapping an arm around her as she snuggled close.

"I don't know, and I'm staying out of it," Susannah muttered, though she chuckled as she watched them.

"Allie was kicking my seat," Adam explained with a smirk at the girl, making her hide her face in Jay's shoulder.

Jay couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I'll keep her here so she won't cause any more trouble," he told him, the smile lingering on his face as he closed his eyes again.

Adam nodded, watching as Allie peeked at him. "You've gotta have better control of her, Man," he said in a joking way before turning back in his seat and sitting down, turning his attention to Susannah. Allie stuck her tongue out at the back of his head and nearly kicked his seat again out of spite but thought better of it at the last minute and stayed close to Jay.

"You're terrible," Susannah told him with a laugh when Adam kissed her cheek.

"What? She was kicking my seat," Adam replied in his defense, wrapping his hand around hers.

"Yeah, and?" Susannah wondered. "You don't have to torture the poor girl."

Adam rolled his eyes, laughing a little. "Yeah, well, at least she won't kick my seat," he muttered. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Susannah looking at him almost expectantly. "What?"

"Do you think you could get me a drink?" she asked sweetly.

"They usually pass them out," Adam answered, raising an eyebrow.

Susannah leaned a little closer to him. "Yeah, I know, but my throat's really been bugging me," she said. "You know how that is. Please, Addy?"

Adam looked at his girlfriend for a long moment, seeing she was starting to give him her best cute face as she pouted a little. "Nope, not gonna work," he muttered, shaking his head a little. But when he looked into her slightly wider eyes, he sighed, running his hand through his hair as he got to his feet and started to walk toward the front of the plane.

"Works every time." Susannah smiled, turning in her seat to look at the girl behind her. "Hey, Allie?"

"Yeah?" Allie leaned forward to talk to her better, knowing Adam was gone.

"Has Adam seemed... different to you lately?" Susannah wondered.

Allie looked at her curiously. "How so?"

Susannah sighed as she shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "It just seems like he's planning something or knows something that he's not telling me, that's all."

"Well..." Allie glanced at Jay, who had fallen asleep again, before turning back to her friend with a small smile. "I'm sure it's nothing. If it was important, you'd know."

"Yeah, I guess..." Susannah couldn't help but notice the other girl's hesitance, but before she could say anything, they both looked up when they heard a louder voice from across the aisle.

"_Michael Mizanin_!" Jillian was turned around in her seat, reaching an arm out to smack a laughing Mike. In his hand was her iPod earphones.

"Looks like we're not the only ones getting restless," Susannah said with a slight laugh.

"Nope!" Allie got to her feet and walked over to them, trying to grab the earphones from Mike. Susannah joined her, and with their combined effort, they were able to return them to their rightful owner.

"You guys are no fun," Mike muttered, fake pouting at them.

"Well, that's what you get," Jillian told him, making sure her earphones were safe with her iPod. "Stealing my stuff..."

Mike laughed. "Well, at least I got a little fun out of that," he said. Then, he stretched in his seat a little, giving his girlfriend a small smile. "I'll be back in a minute. I have to stretch my legs a bit."

"Okay." Anna watched Mike get to his feet and begin to walk toward the front of the plane before looking at the three girls gathered around her. "So, how are you guys enjoying the flight?"

"Well, now that my earphones are safe and sound, I'm all good," Jillian told her with a smile.

Anna laughed a little. "Sorry about that, he was getting bored," she replied. Then, she looked at Allie and Susannah. "You guys are relatively quiet over there."

"Well, Jay fell asleep," Allie told her, rolling her eyes.

"And we've just been relaxing," Susannah added with a slight shrug. "Well, Adam's getting me a drink now, but..." A smile appeared on her face. "Italy's going to be so amazing! I've always wanted to go there."

"Right?" Anna asked. "Ah, man, I can't wait!"

"I guess the guys are useful for some things," Susannah joked. Then she looked over her shoulder when someone cleared their throat, and she saw Adam standing by their seats across the aisle, his eyebrow raised at her with a water bottle in hand. "Oh, hey, sweetheart."

"After the autographs I had to sign for this, don't tell me you don't want it now," Adam muttered, raising the bottle for emphasis.

"Oh, I do!" Susannah walked over to him and took it, hearing Anna laughing at her. "Sorry if it was any trouble."

But Adam smiled at her, ruffling her hair before sitting down in his seat. "No, it wasn't any trouble," he said as his girlfriend sat next to him, giving her a quick kiss. "None at all."

* * *

_Adam Copeland shifted in his seat to make himself a bit more comfortable, watching the action of the hockey game in front of him as the young couple sitting in the seats next to him picked up their youngest child and jackets before leaving with both of their kids. It was one of his few days off, and if it was one thing he enjoyed doing on those days, it was seeing one of his favorite sports. He smiled as a group of young fans approached him, asking for autographs, and he signed the papers they presented him with and posed for a few pictures. Even when he wasn't working, fans were one thing that was always a constant, but it was one thing he didn't mind._

_Then, Adam cheered as everyone did around him when he turned his attention back to the game, the team they were all there to support scoring a goal to get ahead. He watched the screen, laughing quietly to himself when it showed shots of excited fans sitting in the audience._

_But his eyes narrowed slightly when it showed a shot of a girl with layered light brown hair smiling down at a young, blond haired boy sitting next to her, a broad smile on her face as she applauded the team and the boy jumped up and down in his seat. For some reason, Adam found himself not able to take his eyes off her until other fans replaced her, and even then, he wondered who she was._

_Soon, the bell sounded for the first break, and Adam placed his program on his seat to save it before getting up and leaving the arena to get something to eat. He walked through the crowd of people, who all had the same thought he did, sighing as he got in line and looked up at the menu to try to decide what he wanted._

_"Hey, hold my hand. There are too many people. I don't want you getting lost."_

_Adam glanced over his shoulder, and he saw that the girl he had seen on the screen was standing in line behind him, having a tight hold on the blond boy's hand. He watched as she glanced up at him, feeling his eyes on her, and he gave her a smirk. "Hi," he said._

_The girl smiled as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hey," she replied._

_Before Adam could say anything more, the young boy's face lit up with excitement. "Edge!" he exclaimed._

_"I take it your boy's a wrestling fan," Adam muttered, smiling as he jumped up and down._

_"Oh, he's not mine," the girl told him with a smile. "This is my cousin. And he's not the only one who's a fan."_

_Adam raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he asked. "Who's your favorite wrestler?"_

_The girl moved her gaze from his, a slight blush creeping up to her cheeks. The smirk that was still on the man's face wasn't making it any easier. "Well, I've always been a fan of yours," she finally answered._

_"Good choice." Adam winked at her before looking down at the boy next to her. "How about you, little man?"_

_"Undertaker!" the boy answered with a smile._

_Adam shrugged. "Well, it could be worse," he muttered. Then, he walked forward as the line moved up, the girl close behind. "I saw you guys on the screen after that goal."_

_"Oh, really?" The girl laughed a little as she pulled her cousin along with her. "I didn't even notice we were shown."_

_"I did," Adam told her, laughing a little himself when he noticed another blush starting to form in the girl's cheeks. "So, what's your name?"_

_A look of surprise passed over the girl's face. "Uh... Susannah," she muttered._

_"That's pretty," Adam told her, a small smile slowly replacing the smirk. "You can call me Adam."_

_Susannah returned the smile as the three of them walked closer to the concession stand. "Okay," she replied. "I'll keep that in mind."_

_Adam nodded as he held his hand out, and Susannah shook it. "So, enjoying the game?" he wondered, hoping to keep the conversation going._

_"Yeah, we are," Susannah told him. "Hockey's one of my favorite sports. I'm glad I got to bring my cousin today, he loves it. And he plays too."_

_"Do you?" Adam looked down on the boy and gave him a smile. "Well, maybe one day I'll come here to see you play." He laughed a little as a broad smile appeared on his face, also hiding a little shyly behind his cousin._

_Then, they came up to the stand, and Adam glanced back at Susannah. "What did you guys want?" he wondered._

_Susannah looked up at him. "Why?"_

_"I'm not sure what I want yet, so if you had something in mind, you could go first," Adam explained._

_"Oh, okay." Susannah walked forward to stand next to him with her cousin. "I'll take one order of nachos, a hot dog with only ketchup, and two small Pepsis," she told the woman working the register._

_"Make that two nachos, a hot dog, and three Pepsis," Adam quickly added, ignoring the confused look Susannah gave him._

_The woman looked from Adam to Susannah and back with confusion. "Is that one order?" she asked._

_"Ye-!"_

_"No," Susannah cut in. She looked up at Adam, watching as he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. Her cousin looked at them both curiously._

_"Yes, it's one order," Adam answered the woman as he turned to look back at her, pulling out his wallet. "Don't listen to her."_

_"What?" Susannah shook her head when the woman looked back at her, glaring at Adam._

_"Okay..." The woman working behind the counter added the total together. "That'll be nine-fifty."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Susannah muttered, her tone slightly irritated._

_Adam shrugged as he handed the woman a ten, getting fifty cents back. "I don't know," he replied. "Just doing my good deed for the day."_

_Susannah rolled her eyes. "At least let me pay you back," she said._

_"No." Adam crossed his arms as he looked down at her. "That would defy the point of said good deed."_

_Before Susannah could offer any further argument, the woman came back with the order. "Here you go," she told them._

_"Thank you," Adam replied, picking up the tray of drinks and one of the containers of nachos while Susannah picked up the second and the hot dog before moving off to the side._

_Susannah then handed the hot dog to her cousin. "Here, you hold onto this," she said before grabbing some napkins. "You can eat it when we get back to our seats."_

_The boy smiled. "Okay!"_

_Adam smiled at Susannah when she turned back to look at him, an action he could tell annoyed her. "We'll go to your seats first so I can leave your drinks with you," he suggested. "That'll be easiest."_

_Susannah looked at him for a moment before she sighed. "Fine," she finally agreed. "That probably would work best."_

_"Lead the way," Adam replied, winking at her._

_Hoping to hide her blush, Susannah took her cousin's hand and began to lead him through the crowd, Adam following behind her. They made their way back into the arena, going down the stairs until they reached their row of seats. Adam noticed they weren't sitting too far from where he was._

_"Go sit," Susannah told the boy, watching as he walked four seats into the row before sitting down. She then turned back to Adam, taking one of the sodas out of the tray before reaching over and handing it to him. She turned to grab the other one for herself, gasping quietly when she felt her fingers touch Adam's since he had gone to grab it too. "Sorry about that..."_

_"That's okay." Adam smiled as he watched her quickly pull her hand away, picking up her drink and handing it to her. "Enjoy the rest of the game."_

_Susannah looked down at the soda for a minute before looking back at Adam. "You too," she replied. "Thank you for this."_

_Adam shook his head. "You don't have to thank me," he said. "See you later." Then, he raised his eyebrows at her before turning and walking down the stairs to his seat a few rows closer to the front. He picked up his program and sat down with his order of nachos and Pepsi, seeing the family that had been sitting next to him hadn't come back. He remembered how their youngest child hadn't been feeling well, assuming they must have gone home when they left earlier. He smiled slightly to himself as he ate one of the nachos, having no idea why he had bought the snacks for the girl and her cousin. It was an impulse he had acted upon but couldn't explain._

_Then, he looked up with surprise when he heard someone sit down next to him, seeing that Susannah was now in that seat with her cousin on her other side. "You looked like you could use some company," she muttered. _

_Laughing a little, Adam nodded. "That I could," he replied. "So, uh... I take it there are no more hard feelings about..." He gestured to the nachos and soda in her hands._

_Susannah looked down at them as well, a smile appearing on her face. "Oh, they're still there," she told him, looking back up at him with a gleam in her eye. "And somehow, I will pay you back, Adam."_

_Adam smirked at her, taking a sip of his soda. "Okay, then," he said as the two hockey teams came back out onto the ice to resume the game. "Sounds good to me."_

* * *

The group landed in Venice, Italy a few hours later that evening, and once everyone got their luggage and rental cars figured out, they made their way to their hotel. Susannah was in awe as she looked at all of the old but beautiful buildings and the Grand Canal running through the city as Adam drove, only turning to look at him when she heard his quiet laugh.

"We'll get a chance to do some sightseeing tonight once we get settled in and tomorrow before the show," he told her, flashing her a smile. "But didn't I say you were going to love it?"

"Yeah, you did," Susannah replied with a smile of her own, looking back out the window. "And you're right. It's amazing! I can't wait to see more."

They reached the hotel and got their bags out of the back after Adam found a spot, walking toward the tall, brightly-lit building. Adam signed a couple autographs for a group of fans that was waiting for them by the door before pulling Susannah inside, checking in at the front desk and heading up to their room on the third floor.

"So... you said something about sightseeing?" Susannah asked, turning to look at her boyfriend as she sat on the bed of the somewhat big room. There were two comfortable chairs by the window and a couch closer to the door, a television hanging on the wall across from her.

Adam smiled, sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her waist. "I did," he answered. "Jay and I were thinking of taking you and Allie out for dinner tonight. What do you say?"

Susannah smiled, leaning forward and meeting his lips in a soft, slow kiss. "I think that's a great idea."

* * *

A woman who had been standing in the crowd of fans when Adam and Susannah arrived at the hotel looked down at her camera at the pictures she had taken. She hadn't asked him for an autograph or a hug like most of the people around her, but she got what she had come for. She looked at the first couple pictures of just the Rated R Superstar and then the ones of him and his girlfriend, smirking to herself as she walked through the parking lot toward a car in the back as more cars pulled in. She got in behind the wheel, pushing some loose strands of her black hair out of her face as she dialed a number on her cell phone, waiting for the man to answer.

_"Hello?"_

The woman's smirk broadened when she heard his voice as she set the camera in the passenger seat next to her. "He's here."

**Author's Note**: So, there's a little more pick up there. Who are the people at the end? Well, you'll find out. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are appreciated. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: In honor of the Royal Rumble PPV (I know it's a year later, so it's not quite the same, lol), I thought I'd update today. Thank you to **myers1978**, **ExtremeDiva18**, **doreenthatshot**, **iceeHockeyloverrr**, and **x0allisonqt0x** for your reviews! And since the flashbacks seem to be liked, I will mention now there will be quite a few throughout the course of the story. And also remember to keep an eye out for clues. They are there. Anyway, enjoy!

_Chapter 2_

_Jay Reso left the gym parking lot, sighing as he rolled down the window to let some of the cool air in. He usually carpooled with someone else on the ECW roster, but he had been running a little bit later since that morning, so he decided just to go on his own. Pulling onto the street that would bring him to the arena, he smiled and turned up the radio a little bit when one of his favorite songs came on._

_Then, Jay pulled his cell phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrating, and he glanced at the screen, seeing it was his best friend, who was on the Smackdown roster. "Hey, Adam," he said, bringing it to his ear._

"Hey, where are you?"_ Adam asked. "_Susannah and I are waiting for you."

_"I'm just running a little late," Jay answered, coming to a stop at a set of red lights. "I'll be there in ten minutes maybe."_

_"_Okay, Man. See you then,"_ Adam replied._

_"See you soon." Jay put his phone back into his pocket just as the light turned green. He drove through the intersection, sighing as he leaned back in his seat. He wished he hadn't missed his alarm going off since it threw off his whole day, but having not had much sleep the past few days due to all the time on the road, it was to be expected it would happen sooner rather than later._

_But as he drove a little further, Jay's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw a girl with brown hair tied behind her head on the side of the road standing next to a car with what appeared to be a flat tire. He glanced at the clock, seeing that he was running short on time, but as he looked back at her face, he couldn't help but feel as though he recognized her from somewhere. Sighing, he slowed his car to a stop on the opposite side of the street, turning it off before crossing to where the girl was._

_"Everything okay?" Jay asked, standing next to her._

_The girl quickly turned to look at him, and when he got a closer look at her face, Jay knew he definitely recognized her. "Oh, yeah," she answered quietly, seeming a bit flustered. "Just, um... a flat tire."_

_Jay gave her a small smile before he walked a little closer and knelt down next to the car to get a better look at the front left tire. "Looks like you ran over something," he muttered, getting back to his feet. "Do you have a spare?"_

_"Yeah, in the trunk," the girl replied. "But I don't know how to change it."_

_"I've done it a couple times," Jay assured her. "Can you get it?"_

_The girl looked at him with surprise. "You really don't have to do this," she said, brushing a couple loose strands of hair behind her ear. ""I can just call for a tow..."_

_Jay laughed a little. "This will be faster," he told her. "Mind getting it?"_

_"Sure." The girl walked to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk, Jay walking with her. She opened it, revealing the spare tire inside. "Here it is."_

_"Thanks." Jay reached in and grabbed the tire, balancing it on his hip as he walked back to the flat one. "Need the jack too."_

_"Uh..." The girl looked through the other objects she kept in the trunk, finally pulling it out. "You mean this?"_

_Jay looked over his shoulder. "Yeah," he said, setting the tire down before holding his hand out to her. The girl quickly walked over and handed it to him, and Jay knelt on the ground in front of the car._

_The girl watched as he worked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at his face. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked._

_Once the car was at a good enough distance off the ground, Jay started to work on taking the flat tire off. "You know, I was wondering the same thing," he answered without glancing back at her. "My name's Jason."_

_"Allison," the girl replied._

_Jay paused when he heard her name, slowly looking back at her to study her face. Then, his eyes lit up in recognition. "Allie?"_

_Confused, Allie looked back at him for a long moment before a smile spread across her face. "Jay?"_

_"Wow, I can't believe I'd run into you of all people on the side of the road," Jay muttered with a slight laugh, taking the tire off and setting it aside before he got to his feet. Allie had been a good friend of his who had been a couple years behind him in school, but he hadn't seen her since he had graduated. "How have you been?"_

_"Good!" Allie said, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "I pursued dancing after college."_

_Jay smiled, remembering how much she had loved to dance. It had always been her passion. "Well, that's good. I'm glad to hear that," he replied. "You were always so good at it."_

_Allie smiled. "Thanks. And look at you," she told him. "Pursuing your wrestling dream..."_

_"I couldn't be happier," Jay muttered, kneeling back down in front of his friend's car to put on the spare tire. "I love it there."_

_"That I can see." Allie sat down on the ground next to him. "I have a couple friends who love wrestling, and I often watch it with them. I thought I recognized you when I saw you on television."_

_Jay smiled at her, beginning to put the tire into place. "It's nice to know you're watching."_

_Allie returned the smile, laughing a little. "I just wish I would have put two and two together."_

_Their conversation trailed off as Jay finished putting the tire on, making sure it was securely in place before taking the jack. "Well, that should do it," he said, getting back to his feet before pulling Allie up. He placed the jack in her hand. "If you carry that, I'll put the flat in your trunk."_

_"Okay." Allie watched as Jay picked up the flat tire and brought it to the back of the car, setting it in the trunk before putting the jack back in and shutting it. "Thank you so much for your help, Jay."_

_Jay smiled at her, pulling her into a one-armed hug. "My pleasure," he replied. "It's really good to see you again, Allie."_

_"I know, it's been too long," Allie agreed. "Hold on." She walked over to the passenger side door and opened it, pulling a pocket notebook and a pen out of the glove compartment. She opened to a blank page and quickly wrote something down before tearing it out and handing it to him. "Here's my number. Keep in touch, okay, Jay? I know you're busy..."_

_"Thanks, I'll definitely give you a call." Jay looked down at the paper she had given him, folding it in half and sticking it in his pocket. _

_"I'm counting on it." Allie smiled up at him. "Don't you have a show to get to?"_

_"Huh? Oh, yeah," Jay muttered, quickly pulling the keys to the rental car out of his pocket. "So glad to see you again, Allie. I'll talk to you more soon. I hate to have to rush, but..."_

_Allie gave him a quick hug. "That's okay. I'm glad you came by this road, Jay," she replied. "It was really good to see you too."_

_Jay nodded, giving her a quick wave before he hurried back to his car across the street. He climbed in behind the wheel and started it just as his phone started to ring again, and he quickly answered it. "Hello?"_

"Ten minutes, Jay?" _Adam asked. "_You'd better get your ass down here. What's taking so long?"

_"Sorry, Man. I'm on my way now," Jay answered, looking back at Allie as she got in her own car. "I had to make an important stop." _

* * *

Jay pushed open the door of the hotel room that he and Allie would be using, seeing it was across the hall from Adam and Susannah since he had texted him the number, and entered with his girlfriend close behind. He had signed autographs for the fans waiting outside of the hotel, even though he was just exhausted after the flight. Allie smiled as she looked around at the room, seeing one bed and a couch closer to the door with a comfortable chair near the window. It was a good size for them.

Allie walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it, Jay walking after her. He set their bags on the floor before lying on the bed next to his girlfriend, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her closer. "We're meeting Adam and Susannah for dinner, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, last I heard," Jay answered with a slight smile, kissing her lips quickly. "But for now, a little rest and relaxation will be nice."

"That's true," Allie agreed, returning the smile as she closed her eyes. "That long flight was exhausting."

"Fun though." Jay's smile broadened as he looked at Allie, noticing how peaceful she looked. He moved a little closer, snuggling his face in her neck.

Suddenly, Allie shrieked and sat up away from her boyfriend, and Jay looked up at her with surprise as she moved out from under his arm. "What?" he wondered, confusion crossing his face.

"Don't... do that..." Allie muttered, curling up in an almost protective way.

Jay slowly sat up, raising an eyebrow. "Allie, what are you talking about?"

Allie moved her shoulders up so they were on either side of her neck, almost protectively. "Your beard," she told him. "It tickles."

"My beard?" Jay repeated in disbelief. But then, he laughed a little. "Ah, come on, Allie. I didn't do that on purpose..."

"Still." Allie eyed him carefully. "Just be careful."

Jay shook his head, the smile lingering on his face. "Here. How about this?" he said. He leaned back against the head of the bed, stretching his arm up on the pillows as he motioned for her to join him. After a moment, Allie cautiously curled up against Jay, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. "There. Better?"

Allie smiled as she closed her eyes. "Oh, yeah," she replied as he ran his hand up and down her arm. "This is better."

* * *

_Mike Mizanin pushed open the door of the club and walked inside with Adam, Susannah, Jay, Allie, Jillian and a few other members of the WWE roster, looking forward to celebrating after the Royal Rumble. The loud music blared around them as they made their way through the dancing crowd, finding some seats at the bar to get some drinks._

_"I just wanted to say that even though I got eliminated tonight, it's good to have Edge back in WWE," Mike said, speaking up so the others could hear him. "Welcome back, Man."_

_Adam laughed a little, wrapping his arm around Susannah's waist. "Thanks, Mike," he replied. "It's good to be back."_

_Then, the bartender came over to them, and they all ordered what they wanted to drink. They came shortly after, and the group toasted to another successful pay-per-view._

_Allie looked over her shoulder at the dance floor, her fingers tapping to the music. "Hey, Jay," she said, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Wanna go dance?"_

_"Maybe in a little bit," Jay replied, taking a sip of his beer before kissing her forehead._

_Grumbling under her breath, Allie turned to Susannah and Jillian, who were sitting on the other side of her. "How about you guys?" she asked, poking her friend's arm to get her attention._

_Susannah took a quick sip of her white wine before setting it back down on the counter. "Sure, sounds fun," she answered with a smile while Jillian nodded in agreement, turning to look at Adam. "How about you?"_

_Adam looked over at her. "You mean dance?" When Susannah nodded, he smiled. "Why not?" He then took her hand as they both got to their feet, heading over to the dance floor with Jillian. Allie watched them for a minute, smirking at Jay and ruffling his hair before she walked with them. Sighing, Jay set his drink down before following after his girlfriend._

_Mike laughed a little as he watched them, turning his attention back to his own drink. Dancing sounded fun, and he would join his friends after relaxing for a little longer. But as he looked at the rest of the people sitting with them, his eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed one person was missing. "Hey, wasn't Chris going to join us?" he asked John Hennigan, otherwise known as John Morrison, his former tag team partner._

_"He was," John answered, looking around too and not seeing the man in question. "But I guess he decided to stay back at the hotel."_

_"Ah, well. This isn't for everyone," Mike muttered, taking another drink._

_Then, he gasped and looked over his shoulder when he suddenly felt something cold on his back, and Mike found himself looking at three girls. The one in the middle with curly brown, highlighted hair was holding a near empty glass in her hand, and her face was deep red._

_"I'm so sorry," she said through her laughter. "With all the people here, I kinda tripped... Sorry about your shirt."_

_"That's okay," Mike replied, giving John a dark look as he laughed at his friend's misfortune. "I have another one in my car... No big deal."_

_The girl's laughter slowly died off, and her eyes shone with recognition. "Hey, I think I've seen you on TV," she told him._

_Mike gave her a broad grin. "Yeah? Well, of course, how can you not recognize me?" He ignored John as he now rolled his eyes. "I'm awesome!"_

_"Yeah, but I don't remember where I saw you..."_

_"Oh," Mike muttered, to which John once again quietly laughed. "Well, I'm a professional wrestler." The girl only continued to look at him blankly, and Mike laughed a little. "It's okay, you don't have to know who I am. But I'm going to go get changed out of this shirt..." _

_"I really am sorry about that," the girl said, once again starting to laugh a little. "It was an accident."_

_Mike got to his feet, taking a deep breath as he turned to her. "It's fine," he repeated, a smile appearing on his face. "I've got another one in my car, remember? Be back in a bit." He hurried away from the bar and the three girls, running out to his rental car and unlocking it. He opened his bag and pulled out a new shirt, quickly changing and putting the wet one on the seat before going back into the club. As he made his way back to where his friends were sitting, he saw the girls were still there._

_"See? No problem."_

_The girl who had spilled her drink on him smiled. "Well, good," she replied. "My name is Anna, by the way."_

_"Anna?" Mike repeated, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mike."_

_"I'm glad the shirt wasn't a big deal," Anna muttered, setting her glass down on the bar as the song changed._

_"No, it wasn't," Mike assured her. "Want a quick dance so you know there's no hard feelings?"_

_A blush made its way up to Anna's cheeks. "Uh... sure," she said, trying to suppress another laugh. "Sounds good."_

_Mike smiled, leading her out onto the dance floor. He made his way over to where his friends were dancing, turning his attention to Anna as they began to move together._

* * *

"I am so tired."

Anna smiled as she watched Mike collapse onto the bed after dropping his bags on the floor, closing his eyes as soon as his head hit the pillow. She sat next to him, rubbing his back for a minute. "That was the longest flight I've ever been on," she said, yawning herself. "But it was kinda fun. You sure picked on Jillian a lot."

Mike laughed a little but didn't look at her. "That was so much fun," he muttered. "I'd feel bad for her, but... she's too good of a sport."

Laughing, Anna laid down next to him, looking up at the ceiling. "That's true," she agreed. "But don't you think you should cut her some slack?"

"Nope. Never."

Anna shook her head, but her smile lingered as she turned to look at her boyfriend. Though she had only been with him for four months, she found it was the best relationship she had been in. After smoothing out after a bit of a rocky start, something she knew she had to thank Adam for, they were stronger than they were when they started. She considered Adam and the rest of the group she was with her closest friends even though she hadn't been traveling with the WWE as long as the other three girls had.

"Hey, wanna go swimming with me later?" Anna suddenly asked.

Mike cracked an eye open. "Swimming?" he repeated. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Anna's smile broadened. "It'll be fun! After relaxing for a bit of course."

"Well... I don't know..." Mike said, though by the look in his eye and the smirk on his face he was messing with her.

Anna pouted at him, making Mike laugh as he took a deep breath and propped himself up on his arm, rubbing his tired eyes. "Okay, okay. Later." He paused. "Besides, the hot tub sounds really appealing."

"Mike, you're awesome!" Anna told him, laughing a little before quickly kissing him.

"I know." Mike gave her a true smile as he kissed her a second time. "After all, I'm the Miz. I'm _supposed _to be awesome."

* * *

Jillian came to a stop at a red light, smiling as she looked around at the old buildings around her. A light drizzle had begun, but it didn't take away from the almost mystic atmosphere of the beautiful city. She thought of the pamphlet tucked away in her bag in the backseat, knowing everything it had said about the place had been right on as she made a mental list of the places she wanted to visit before they left. She just knew this part of the tour was going to be great.

Then, she gasped when she heard the sound of squealing tires as something lightly rammed her car from behind, and she tightened her hands around the steering wheel in surprise. Once it wore off a little, Jillian turned in her seat to look at the car behind her. Though they were close, she couldn't really see the face of the person who had hit her due to the overcast clouds, but their blinker was on to signal they were pulling to the side. Sighing, Jillian looked ahead of her again, seeing the light had turned green, and she slowly went through the intersection and pulled to the side of the road. The car behind her did the same, and she turned her car off before climbing out.

She walked toward the car that had parked behind her, hearing as it turned off. Jillian slowed her pace a little as she got nearer, opening her bag to make sure her information would be easily accessible as she waited for the other driver. A few more minutes passed before the driver's door opened as they stepped out, and her eyes widened when she saw the man as he looked through his wallet.

He had longer black hair that was tied back behind his head and a full beard, his ears and lip pierced. Even before he looked at her with tired hazel eyes as he rolled up the sleeves of his navy sweatshirt, partly revealing sleeves of tattoos, she knew who he was. He was CM Punk, the wrestler who had gotten her interested in watching when she and her sister had started a few years before.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, giving her a small smile. "I took the corner too fast and couldn't stop completely in time. Are you okay?"

Jillian stared at him for a couple more minutes before blinking a couple times. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," she replied, the shock slowly wearing off. She glanced down at her rental car, seeing there was only a small dent in the back bumper. "Doesn't look like there's much damage done either. Um... Thanks, Punk?"

The WWE superstar laughed a little as he looked back at her. "Call me Phil," he told her. "And I'm glad you're okay and there's not much damage done. But it's still my fault. Not exactly sure how rental cars work, but here's my information so you won't have to cover it."

While he continued to go through his wallet, Jillian found she could only stare at him, the shock not as worn off as she thought. But when he turned back to her to exchange information, she forced a smile as she gave him hers as well.

"All right, that should do it," Phil muttered, folding the paper she had given him with her number on it and put it in his wallet. "If there are any issues, just give me a call and we'll work it out."

"Okay, will do." Jillian put his number in her bag, sighing as she smiled again. "It was nice meeting you, Phil."

"Yeah, you too. It was just too bad it had to be this way." Phil shook her hand. "And you're... Jill, right?"

Jillian nodded. "Yep," she confirmed. "Close enough."

"You know, I think I've seen you around backstage at shows before," Phil muttered thoughtfully. "Are you with someone?"

"Oh, no," Jillian said, shaking her head. "My sister is dating Jay Reso. I go with them sometimes when I can. I'm with them now, actually. Just on my way to the hotel."

"Ah, okay. That would explain it. He's a good guy." Phil laughed a little. "Well, I'm sure I'll see you around then since we're staying at the same place."

Jillian felt a slight blush creep up to her cheeks, but she tried her best to hide it. "Yeah, I'm sure," she agreed.

Phil smiled slightly, able to see her nervousness. "How about I make this up to you?" he suggested. "I'm pretty busy tonight, but tomorrow I'm free. How does dinner sound?"

"Really?" Jillian asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Phil answered with a nod. "Just because I'm a WWE superstar doesn't mean I can't invite a pretty girl out to dinner. Besides, it'll make me feel better after this." He gestured to the two cars.

Though she could hear the slight teasing in his tone, Jillian felt her cheeks burn again in embarrassment. "Um... yeah, okay," she finally mumbled. "Sounds good."

Phil laughed. "All right, Jill, I'll stop putting you on the spot," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder for a second. "I'll give you a call tomorrow."

Jillian watched as he turned and walked back to his car, quickly getting behind the wheel of her own. She sat there for a moment, taking a deep breath as she willed her heart to return to its normal rate. She glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as Phil started the car and backed up a little before pulling away from the side of the road and continued driving. Waiting until his car was out of sight, Jillian gripped the wheel tightly and leaned forward, trying to conceal the laughter she suddenly felt she had to get out.

Her dream of meeting CM Punk had come true in a much better way than she could have ever imagined. Grinning with excitement, Jillian started the car before following the road Phil's car had taken. She couldn't wait to tell her sister and friends about their upcoming dinner date.

* * *

Adam left his and Susannah's hotel room, taking the two flights of stairs down to the lobby. He wanted to get some coffee before he went out to dinner with his girlfriend and closest friends so he could feel more awake while driving, still exhausted from the long flight. He crossed the lobby, but before he reached the cafe, he saw the door of the hotel open and Chris enter.

"Hey," he said as his former tag team partner walked toward him.

Chris came to a stop next to his friend, rubbing his tired eyes. "A long flight and a group of fans waiting outside of the hotel is not a good combination," he muttered.

Adam laughed a little. "Yeah, I agree with you on that," he replied. "But at least they were nice."

"True." Then, Chris smiled slightly. "How are you and Susannah? Doing okay after that flight?"

"Yeah, we're okay," Adam said. "Tired but okay. Jay and I are taking the girls out for dinner in a little while."

"That'll be fun." Chris paused thoughtfully for a minute. "I don't know if I've ever told you this, but you two really do make a great couple. You're good for each other."

A smile appeared on Adam's face. "Thanks, Chris," he replied. "That means a lot. I can't believe it's been three years already."

"It's a long time to be with someone," Chris muttered. "You're lucky."

Adam nodded. "I feel the same way. I'm glad I found the right girl." A gleam appeared in his eyes. "I can't wait until tomorrow..."

"What's tomorrow?" Chris wondered.

"Well, I don't want to say much, but I've been planning this for a while because I want it to be perfect. Simple, but perfect," Adam explained, his smile lingering. "I want it to be memorable, you know? So tomorrow after the show, I'm going to ask her."

Chris stared at the other man for a moment with shock. He knew what his friend was implying, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You... you're going to ask her?" he repeated quietly.

Adam's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah," he muttered. "You don't think it's a good time?"

"No, that's not it," Chris told him with a smile. "I just wasn't expecting you to ask her yet. But just look where we are! It's the perfect place."

"That's what I thought." Adam looked at the other man carefully, his surprise not going unnoticed, but he covered it up with a smile of his own. "Remember that bridge we all loved so much over the Grand Canal? I think that's where I'm going to ask her. She's going to love it."

Chris nodded. "I agree with you, that'd be the best spot," he said. "It's so beautiful there. And yeah, Susannah would absolutely love it." He sighed. "I'm happy for you guys. I hope she says yes."

"I do too," Adam replied. "I just have to think positive about it, right?"

"Yeah."

Adam then reached in his pocket and pulled his cell phone out to check the time. "I'd better get going," he told him. "Jay wanted to leave in a few minutes. I'll talk to you later, Chris."

"Okay, Man. See you later." Chris watched as Adam quickly crossed the lobby toward the cafe, sighing heavily as soon as he was out of sight. Then, he made his way to the front desk and got his key, slowly making his way up to his room.

**Author's Note**: All right, there it is! If you have any guesses to who the strange people who showed up are and who may be behind everything, leave them in your review! The action will pick up soon, I promise, lol. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you!


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews! Things start picking up a little bit here, so keep an eye out for any clues. Oh, and keep the earlier warnings in mind, lol. Enjoy!

_Chapter 3_

About ten minutes later, Adam, Jay, Susannah, and Allie left the hotel, all getting in Adam's rental car as they made their way toward the restaurant. Allie and Susannah had broad smiles on their faces as they looked at the mystical city around them, lit up by street lamps as they made their way through. Adam couldn't help but smile as he glanced at his girlfriend, Jay wrapping his arm around Allie's waist. They could see they were entranced by the allure the city provided, and they couldn't blame them. They had the same reaction the first time they were there, and even now. There was just something magical about it.

As Adam drove over the main bridge that overlooked the Grand Canal, Jay smiled and leaned forward in his seat to talk to his best friend. "This it?" he asked quietly.

Adam glanced at him, returning the smile with an excited gleam in his eye. "Yep, Man. This is it," he answered.

"It for what?" Susannah wondered, looking at her boyfriend and brother figure curiously.

Jay smirked at her, ruffling her hair before he sat back in his seat. Adam turned to her, reaching over and taking her hand as she used the other to try to straighten her hair out again. "This bridge is the spot we all loved last time we were here," he explained, slowing down a little so Susannah and Allie could see the area better since there was no other traffic around them. "It's lovely, especially at night."

"Wow, you're right!" Allie said, her eyes shining as she looked out at the moonlight that reflected off the water's surface. "It's beautiful!"

Susannah looked at Adam carefully, knowing it had just been an excuse. He wasn't telling her the real reason behind his and Jay's quick exchange about the bridge. Adam looked back at her, giving her a quick wink. She knew he could tell she didn't believe him, but he wasn't giving her any other clues to its true significance.

Adam then pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant they had liked the last time they were in Italy, turning the car off and walking around the side to meet Susannah. He held his arm out to her, and she slowly linked her arm through his while giving him a speculating look.

"What are you up to, Addy?" Susannah asked quietly.

He just laughed, leaning down and kissing her cheek. "Don't worry about it," Adam muttered before they began to walk toward the door, Jay and Allie with them.

But then, Allie paused as Adam and Susannah walked inside, something catching her eye. Looking closer, she noticed a woman with black hair standing in the shadows of the restaurant, what appeared to be a camera in her hand. She smiled at Allie before turning and walking out of sight.

"Hey, Allie, you coming?"

Allie looked back at Jay, seeing he was waiting by the door and holding it open for her. "Uh... yeah," she told him. "Did you see..." But her question trailed off when she saw her boyfriend raising an eyebrow in confusion. She sighed and glanced around at the parking lot one last time, not seeing any other sign of the woman, before following him inside.

"Never mind."

* * *

Chris stepped out of the hotel, reaching into his sweatshirt pocket as he searched for the keys to his rental car. He finally found them, but before he could walk to the parking lot, he gasped when a pair of strong hands grabbed him from behind. Before he realized what was happening, he grunted with pain when he was shoved forcefully back into the outer wall behind him, and his eyes widened when he found himself surrounded by three men wearing leather jackets. The ones to his right and left had spiked dark hair and clean shaven faces while the one directly in front of him who was holding him against the wall had long dark hair and a braided beard.

"Wh-what do you guys want?" Chris asked, looking at them with fear.

The man with the beard who appeared to be in charge of the three leaned a little closer to him, and Chris turned his head away from him. "I think you know," he answered in nearly a whisper, his voice not containing an Italian accent.

Chris watched as one of the two other men pulled a pocketknife out of his jacket, shaking his head in protest. "Please, don't do this!" he said pleadingly. "I... I'll give you whatever you want! Please, just give me a chance!"

"You..." the man began, but his sentence trailed off when he heard the door to the hotel open. He looked up, watching as a brown-haired girl stepped outside with her cell phone in her hand.

"Jillian, run!" Chris shouted, seeing with relief that the man put his pocketknife away.

Gasping at the sudden sound of her name, Jillian looked up, her face paling as her eyes widened with horror when she saw the three men surrounding her friend. "Chris!"

The man with the long beard turned back to Chris for a moment, his dark eyes gleaming almost with warning before releasing him and walking away. "You're lucky."

The other two waited for a couple minutes before following him, one of them raising his eyebrows and smirking at Jillian before they disappeared from sight. Chris let out a relieved breath as soon as they were gone, closing his eyes as he laid his head back against the wall.

Jillian remained frozen for a minute longer before she ran over to him. "Chris, are you okay?" she asked anxiously, placing her hand on his arm.

Chris didn't answer for a moment as he opened his eyes and stared up at the night sky above him. There was a thoughtful expression on his face, and his jaw set firmly as he seemed to reach some sort of silent conclusion. "I'm fine," he finally answered, slowly turning to look at her.

"Who were those men?" Jillian pressed as he pushed himself away from the wall and started walking toward the dark parking lot. "Did they try stealing from you? Should I call the police?"

Sighing, Chris stopped and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "That won't be necessary, Jillian," he told her quietly. "They didn't get a chance to steal anything."

"But don't you think-!" Jillian sighed as she stopped abruptly, knowing Chris was ignoring her as he continued walking. She had no idea who the men had been or why Chris was brushing it off as if it was no big deal, but at least they hadn't hurt him or stolen anything. But she still couldn't help but wonder what was causing Chris to act so strangely.

* * *

Phil walked down the stairs to the lobby, yawning as he walked toward the cafe. He usually didn't get much sleep at night, but after the long flight to Italy, a little caffeine would do him some good.

But then, he paused when he saw a familiar brown-haired girl enter the hotel from outside, an anxious look on her face as she brought her cell phone to her ear. "Jill?" Phil asked, a little concerned.

Jillian quickly looked up when she heard him, turning her attention back to her phone. She ended the call, putting it back in her pocket before walking over to Phil. "Hey!"

"Hey," Phil replied, giving her a small smile. "Everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Fine," Jillian told him, returning the smile. Then, she hesitated. "I think..."

Phil raised an eyebrow. "Okay, which one is it?" he wondered with a slight laugh. "Everything's fine or you think everything's fine?"

Jillian rolled her eyes, though she laughed a little herself. "Leave me alone," she muttered. She sighed. "Some guys just tried mugging Chris..."

"Irvine?" Phil pressed. When Jillian nodded, he placed his hand on her arm and looked at the door with concern. "Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He's fine. They didn't take anything," Jillian explained. "But... I don't know. He was just acting a little strangely. He was leaving to go somewhere. Not sure where."

Phil nodded. "Well, I'm sure that has something to do with almost being mugged," he said.

"Maybe..." Jillian found she couldn't completely agree with him, but it was the reason that made the most sense. Then, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, seeing she had gotten a text message from her younger sister.

_Okay what was the point of calling if you were just going to hang up? xP_

She quickly sent her answer back to Allie. _Busy. I'll talk to you about it later. Besides you're at dinner. Just enjoy it!_

Jillian put her phone back in her pocket and turned her attention back to Phil, seeing he was looking at her almost thoughtfully. "What?"

"Well, I know we have dinner tomorrow, but do you want to join me for some coffee or something now?" Phil asked. "I was just going to get some."

A slight blush crept up to Jillian's face, and she glanced down to hopefully hide it. After witnessing a friend almost get mugged, having coffee with someone seemed ideal. "Yeah, sure," she answered, looking back up at him with a smile. "Sounds great!"

Phil returned the smile, nodding across the lobby. Jillian nodded, falling into step beside him as they made their way to the cafe.

* * *

After a candlelit dinner with some real Italian food, Adam, Susannah, Jay, and Allie went back to the hotel and to the former couple's room. Adam leaned back against the headboard and pillows, Susannah laying next to him as he wrapped his arm around her. Jay sat on the end of the bed, pulling Allie close to him.

"Long flights are always so tiring," Adam muttered, closing his eyes as he placed his head against his girlfriend's. He smiled when she snuggled up against him.

"I know," Jay agreed, Allie laying her head on his shoulder. "Luckily, we have tonight off before the tour starts. And dinner was nice. But I'm really looking forward to these shows."

Adam nodded. "It's always a lot of fun being a part of the European tours."

"The crowds are great," Susannah muttered with a smile. "Always makes it exciting."

"You're right about that. They're usually nice too." Allie cracked one eye open to look at her friend. "But there's always the haters."

Susannah rolled her eyes as she sat up next to her boyfriend. "Oh, man, don't get me started," she said. "I usually don't have many problems in person. They're all on Twitter."

Allie laughed a little as she straightened up too. "Same here," she replied. "Most of them aren't even in high school yet. Claiming we're stealing their men..."

"Can I Twitter spear someone?" Adam asked, looking from Susannah to Allie and back. "That sounds fun."

"Sure, sweetheart," Susannah answered with a grin, ruffling his hair. "You just need to get one first." Allie laughed.

"Yeah, yeah..." Adam felt Susannah continue to run her fingers through his hair, a smirk appearing on his face. He was used to his girlfriend playing with it. "Are you having fun?"

Susannah laughed a little. "Not my fault that whatever you did to your hair this morning made it soft and fluffy," she muttered.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Fluffy?" he repeated. "Never heard it described that way before. You've used soft, but... Fluffy? Seriously?"

"What?" Susannah leaned down and kissed Adam's cheek. "That's what it is."

"Come on, Susannah. You're a writer," Adam said. "Surely you can come up with something better than that."

"I'm sure I could," Susannah replied. "But it's fluffy, and I'm sticking to it."

"There are worse words that could be used to describe your hair than fluffy, Adam," Jay muttered with a laugh of his own, Allie smiling broadly from beside him.

Adam looked over at his best friend with feigned annoyance, Susannah's fingers still running through his hair as she pulled it back from his face. "Jay. When you see a wrestler walk out to the ring, is the first word you think of when you see their hair _fluffy_?" he wondered.

"Well, no, but..."

"Exactly." Adam rolled his eyes. "So my hair being described as fluffy isn't necessarily the best thing."

"Oh, wow," Allie murmured, mainly to herself as she rested her chin in her hands. "We must be tired if we're debating this."

Adam turned his attention to her. "It is quite an important matter, young Allison," he told her. "My pride as the Rated R Superstar could be at stake."

Allie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we're all tired."

Then, Adam tried looking over his shoulder when he felt his girlfriend only pulling on a smaller portion of his hair, Jay starting to laugh. "Susannah, what are you doing?" he asked, not able to see.

"It's a bit hard with the little layering you've got going on, but I'm braiding it," Susannah answered with a slight laugh of her own.

"What?"

"Aww, Addy, it's a cute look," Allie told him through her laughter. "Just wait until she braids the other side. You'll look like a blond Pippi Longstocking."

"Oh, hell no!" Adam immediately sat up away from his laughing girlfriend, frantically running his hands through his hair to straighten it out again.

Jay tightened his arm around Allie. "I can just imagine him walking out onto the ramp with his hair in braided pigtails to the Pippi Longstocking theme song..." he muttered, laughing along with the girls.

Adam gave him the death glare. "Jay, just count your blessings and be grateful your hair isn't long enough to be messed with."

"Well, I don't know about that," Allie said thoughtfully, running her fingers through her boyfriend's much shorter blond hair. "We could maybe put a couple bows in it or something..."

Jay looked down at her, horrified. "You're kidding me!"

Susannah laughed. "He'd kinda look like a puppy," she muttered with a grin.

"Allie, there is no way you're getting a bow anywhere near my hair," Jay told her.

But Allie only laughed. "But it'd be cute, Jay," she replied. She saw Adam smirking out of the corner of her eye, assuming he was just happy to not be on the receiving end of their antics for once. "I mean, you're just a little guy, and it'd add to that image."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he said. "But you are talking to the longest reigning ECW champion before they got rid of it, remember?"

Allie winked. "Oh, I know. But you're still tiny, Jay."

"Okay, I may be a little smaller than some of the other competitors, but tiny? Really?" Jay shook his head. "That's almost as bad as fluffy!"

Adam laughed. "Hey, Man, that's worse than fluffy," he told him. "If I had to pick between having fluffy hair or being considered tiny, I'd definitely go with the fluffy hair."

Susannah smirked, reaching up and ruffling his hair again. "I knew you'd see it my way, Addy," she muttered.

"Well, yeah, when you present me with a less favorable option..."

Jay sighed. "The fact of the matter is, I'm not tiny, and you're not putting any bows in my hair," he said, turning his attention back to his girlfriend.

Allie laughed a little. "Well, Jay, I don't know if you've thought about any of your matches lately, but you pretty much bitch slap your opponents," she replied. "Sometimes I swear you could fit in with the divas."

Adam watched as his best friend met his gaze, and the same look appeared on their faces at the same time. Susannah and Allie looked at them for a moment before looking at each other nervously. They knew that look- they were up to something.

"Ah, what's wrong, my love?" Adam asked, raising his eyebrows quickly at Susannah. "You look anxious."

"Nothing's wrong..." Susannah answered quietly with a small smile. Then, she glanced at Allie again, and both girls got off the bed and ran for the door.

But they didn't get far. Allie shrieked when Jay got hold of her arm after she only took a couple steps, dragging her back to the bed. Susannah got a little closer to the door, reaching out for the handle and missing it as Adam wrapped his arms around her from behind. He picked her up into his arms and dropped her back on the bed beside Allie before kneeling on her other side.

"So, girls," Jay said, an almost evil smirk on his face as he knelt on Allie's other side. "Ever hear the expression paybacks are a bitch?" But before either of them could say anything else, he reached out and began to tickle his girlfriend's stomach and sides while Adam did the same to Susannah.

Allie shrieked, trying to squirm away from Jay without success. Susannah was trying to get away from Adam next to her, but she also wasn't going anywhere. They were trapped.

"Jay!" Allie screamed as she laughed, her arms and legs flailing. "Stop!"

"Come on, Adam!" Susannah added, trying to curl up to protect herself from Adam's hands but was stopped from doing so.

"We'll stop... We just wanna hear you plead," Adam told her with a wink. Jay nodded in agreement.

Susannah tried to glare up at him, but she couldn't due to her laughter. "No... way!" she gasped, trying to push his hands away without success.

Jay shrugged. "Suit yourselves, then," he said, continuing his revenge on Allie.

The girls were forced to endure their tickle torture for another couple of minutes when Allie suddenly thought of a way of escape. "Hey, Jay," she muttered through her laughter. "Where's your... kazoo?"

"Huh?" Jay asked. That had been something he hadn't used in promos since he had teamed with Edge.

But the seemingly innocent question was just enough to make both him and Adam stop for a moment. "Susannah, now!" Allie said.

Susannah nodded, pushing Adam away from her as Allie did the same with Jay, watching as they clunked heads before getting off the bed and running for the door. "Go! Go!" She pulled open the door of the hotel room, Allie taking out her room key as she ran out into the hallway with Susannah behind her. They heard Adam and Jay running after them, but Allie opened the door of her and her boyfriend's room across the hall, holding it open for her friend but shutting it before the two men could get there. They were safe.

Jay sighed as he tried the handle, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good, as Adam crossed his arms next to him. "Come on, Allie," he said, knocking on the door. "You can both come out now. We won't tickle you anymore, we promise."

"How do we know we can believe you?" Allie's voice floated through the door.

"Um... because we've been your boyfriends for a pretty long time, and we both love you very much," Adam replied.

There was a moment of silence on the other side. "I don't know," Susannah spoke up. "You're going to have to do better than that, Addy. I think I may just stay in here for the night..."

"What? No!" This time, Adam was the one who started knocking on the door. "Susannah, baby, come on... I swear, we're done with the tickling."

"Nope," Susannah muttered.

"Hey, Allie, what about me?" Jay asked before Adam could say anything more. "You can't just lock me out of my room all night."

"There's a couch in Adam's room. You can use that," Allie answered, though there was some laughter in her tone. "That's what Susannah's going to do in here. We'll see you in the morning."

Adam and Jay quickly exchanged glances. "Hey, Susannah, please come out," Adam said, leaning against the wall next to the door with a sigh. "I promise I will not tickle you if you leave the room and come back to ours."

"Maybe..." Susannah replied.

"Please?" Jay shook his head slightly in disbelief. "I love you, Allie, and I'm sorry. If you unlock the door, I promise I won't tickle you either."

"Susannah, I love you too," Adam quickly added.

But before either one of the girls could reply, Adam and Jay looked up when they heard footsteps, seeing that Anna and Mike were walking down the hallway toward them with towels over their shoulders, looking at them curiously. "Oh, hey, guys..."

"What's going on out here?" Mike asked with an amused smirk as he raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Jay answered with a smile. "But, uh, we've got everything under control."

Anna nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "Sure you do," she muttered, trying to contain her laughter. "Well, good luck with whatever it is you're trying to do."

"Thanks." Adam smirked. "Not that we really need it..."

"Oh, yes you do," Susannah said from the other side of the door.

Anna laughed as Adam looked down and bit his bottom lip. "All right then," she replied. "Good luck, boys."

"Thanks..." Jay rolled his eyes as he looked back at Adam when Anna and Mike kept walking to head down the stairs toward the lobby. "Can you believe this? Locked out of my own room by my girlfriend."

Adam tried to hide the smile that was threatening to form on his face as he ran his hand through his hair. "You know, that does sound really pathetic," he muttered.

"At least I'm not begging my girlfriend to come out of someone else's room." Jay smirked as Adam glared at him.

But then, they heard the quiet sound of the door being unlocked, and they watched as Susannah opened it and stuck her head out. "We've decided you've been traumatized enough," she announced, opening it further as she and Allie cautiously stepped out into the hallway. They both had their arms wrapped protectively around their waists. "We didn't expect Mike and Anna to walk by, but that was an added bonus."

Adam narrowed his eyes at her, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he looked at his girlfriend. "Are you going to come back to our room with me now?" he asked. "I'll make it up to you."

Susannah looked back at him, studying his face carefully before she returned the smile and nodded. "Yeah," she answered, lowering her arms and taking Adam's hand as she stood next to him. "But if you try anything like that again, you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I told you I wouldn't," Adam muttered, pulling her closer. "And I meant it... for tonight, anyway."

"Deal."

Adam then turned his attention to Allie, a gleam in his eye that she couldn't quite read. Then, he quickly reached his free hand forward as though he meant to tickle her, and she shrieked and jumped back a little. Adam laughed as he stepped back from her, wrapping his arm around Susannah as she tried to hold back her laughter. "Just kidding, Allie," he told her with a wink before they began to walk back to their room.

Jay laughed quietly as he approached his girlfriend, who kept her arms on her sides as she glared at Adam's back until he and Susannah were in their room, and placed his hands on her shoulders before giving her a quick kiss. "I love you, Allie," he said.

Allie returned the smile. "Yeah, I love you too," she replied. "But just so you know, if _you_ try anything like that again, you'll be sleeping on the floor."

* * *

"See, I told you swimming would be fun," Anna muttered, smirking at her boyfriend as she walked around in the shallow end of the hotel's pool first.

"Yeah, yeah... Though as I said, I'm here for the hot tub," Mike replied, setting his towel and clothes he wore over his swim trunks on the nearest chair before slowly getting into the hot water. He leaned back against the side, resting his arms on the edge as he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Yeah, this is what I'm talking about."

Anna laughed, swimming up to the side of it so she could talk to him better. "You're lazy," she said in a joking way.

Mike turned to look at her. "Then let me be lazy," he told her. "This feels awesome." Then, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I wonder what Adam and Jay were doing locked out in the hallway?"

"Who knows?" Anna leaned on the side of the pool, kissing Mike's cheek. "But they probably won't be out there long. Susannah and Allie will let them in eventually."

"Yeah, you're right. They're too nice." Mike smiled as he looked at his girlfriend. "How long would you keep me locked out in the hallway if I did... whatever they did?"

Anna bit her lip, pretending to think about it. "Well, I guess it would depend on what they did," she said. "Probably not long."

"Good enough for me." Mike then leaned closer to her, meeting her lips in a soft kiss. They stayed like that for a moment before he suddenly gasped and looked toward the glass door of the pool.

"What?" Anna wondered.

Mike looked at it for a while longer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't know..." he muttered. "I thought I saw something, that's all."

"Oh." Anna looked at the door too, not seeing anything. Then, she turned to Mike with a mischievous glint in her eye, splashing him with some water from the pool.

"Hey! That wasn't cool!" Mike protested. But when she did it again, he glared at her before jumping the divide that separated the hot tub and the pool. Anna backed up a little as her boyfriend joined her in the pool, pausing when he stopped. "Damn it, that's cold..."

But then, she laughed and started swimming away again when Mike chased after her.

* * *

"Why must you torture her?" Susannah asked with a laugh as she and Adam entered their room and shut the door behind them.

"Because she's my little sister," Adam answered with a smile as he sat down on the bed. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it into his bag to get a bit more comfortable. "I wouldn't be fulfilling my older brother duties if I didn't."

Susannah returned the smile as she ruffled his hair when she passed him, digging around in her bag on the floor next to his and pulling out her body wash, shampoo, towel, and tank top and shorts for sleeping. "I'm going to take a quick shower," she told him. "It'll be amazing after that long flight... Be out in a few minutes."

"Okay." Adam watched as his girlfriend disappeared into the bathroom before reaching down into his bag and pulling out a small black box. He opened it with a sigh and stared at its contents when he heard the water begin to run, knowing that he had less than twenty-four hours to make his plan perfect. He knew it was something he wanted to do, that wasn't the problem, but he wanted to make it one of the most memorable moments of Susannah's life.

Lost in thought, Adam didn't realize how long he had been staring at the box until he heard the bathroom door open, and he shut it before quickly putting it back in his bag and sitting up on the bed. "What's going on?" Susannah wondered as she put her clothes from that day back in her bag and took out her brush so her hair wouldn't be a tangled mess. "You seem... I don't know, nervous?"

"Nothing," Adam replied with a small smile. "I was just uh... Well, I'm tired from the flight too."

Susannah raised her eyebrows as she put the brush back in her bag and sat down at the foot of the bed. "That's the best you can come up with?" she said in disbelief. "Come on, Addy, what is it?"

Adam stared into his girlfriend's eyes for a long moment, slowly raising his hand and brushing some of her wet hair back from her face. Then, he leaned forward and met her lips in a tender kiss. He kissed her a couple more times before Susannah pulled away a little.

"Now you're trying to distract me," she muttered with a small smile. "Adam... why can't you just tell me what's on your mind?"

"It's nothing." Adam inched a little closer to her. "At least... nothing tonight."

Susannah took a deep breath when she felt his soft lips brush against hers before his tongue ran quickly and lightly over her bottom lip, almost tauntingly. "Damn you," she whispered, closing her eyes as she pulled him into another kiss. He knew just how to melt her resolve.

Adam smiled against her lips as he kissed her back with more intensity. He wound an arm around her back, starting to pull her closer to him as he moved away from the edge, but stopped when Susannah suddenly broke the kiss and pushed him onto his back on the bed. Then, she smiled as she straddled his waist, placing her hands securely on his shoulders.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who doesn't play fair," he muttered with a small smirk.

"I learned from the best," Susannah said with a wink. "So, wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Mmm..." Adam narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Not yet." Then, he easily turned them over so he was now lying over Susannah. "If I told you now, it wouldn't be nearly as awesome. Trust me."

"So says the man who doesn't play by the rules," Susannah replied, rolling her eyes with feigned annoyance. "Makes it hard to trust you."

Adam raised his eyebrows at her. "True, but I know what I'm doing," he told her as he winked at her. "You even have to agree with that."

Susannah smiled up at him. "If I have to."

"You know you do." Adam then leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you," he murmured, his lips lingering inches in front of hers.

"I lo..." That was all Susannah was able to say before Adam caught her lips in a deep kiss.

Adam slowly moved his hands down to her waist while Susannah ran her fingers through his hair and set her other hand on his toned lower back. She didn't know what he was keeping from her, but all thoughts other than being with him were driven from her mind as he pulled her closer.

* * *

The dark-haired woman left the pool area, shutting off her video camera and putting it back in the bag on her shoulder as she crossed the lobby. She stepped out into the cool night, turning to look up at a window on the third floor. She couldn't see inside, but she knew he was there.

A smirk appeared on her face. She hoped he enjoyed that night. He would need it. Then, she continued walking to where her car was parked in the back of the lot, starting it and driving away from the hotel.

**Author's Note**: All right! So, there are a couple lighthearted moments in here, but the strange people are moving in. Who are they? And who, if anyone, is with them? Leave your guesses when you review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews! Remember the summary where Edge gets taken? That happens very soon... Enjoy!

_Chapter 4_

"I can't believe you guys locked Adam and Jay out in the hallway for a little bit last night," Jillian muttered with a laugh.

"Hey, they deserved it," Allie said in her defense. "After their relentless tickle assault... I would have left them out there longer."

"Well, we did kinda bring that on ourselves," Susannah reminded her. "After the whole fluffy and tiny thing and what not..."

"Ssh!" Allie turned to look at her friend with a slight glare, but a smile soon replaced it. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Jillian raised an eyebrow. "Fluffy and tiny?" she repeated. "Do I want to know?"

Susannah and Allie exchanged looks. "No, probably not," they both replied while they laughed. The three girls were sitting on Jillian's bed in her room while Adam and Jay got their afternoon workouts in at the hotel's gym and weight room, talking about the events of their first night in Italy.

"All right then," Jillian said, shaking her head a little as she smiled. "So, how was your dinner?"

"Good!" Susannah told her. "I'll probably never be able to eat Italian food once we get back to the States after having the real thing."

"Yeah, the food is great," Allie agreed. "Oh! And you know how in movies they have those guys who play the violin while you eat? Apparently they have them in a lot of restaurants here. It's so cool! The one who was playing for us last night was really good."

Jillian smiled. "That's cool," she replied. "I'll probably see one of them tonight."

Allie looked at her sister curiously. "Are you going out tonight?" she asked.

"Yep," Jillian answered with a nod.

"With who?" Susannah wondered.

A slight blush graced Jillian's cheeks. "Phil Brooks," she told her.

Allie glanced at Susannah with surprise before looking back at Jillian. "Phil? Punk?"

"Yeah, that's him," Jillian confirmed, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Susannah laughed a little, smiling as well. "How did that work out?" She knew he was her favorite wrestler.

"Well, he ran into me yesterday on the way to the hotel," Jillian explained. "Literally. Slight fender bender. But he wants to have dinner to make up for it, so we're going tonight. We had coffee last night, and that's when I called you. I hung up since he invited me to join him."

Allie and Susannah exchanged knowing looks. "Aww, that's sweet," Allie said. "It sounds like you like the guy, Jillian."

"No. I never said that," Jillian muttered, unable to meet their gazes.

"Yeah, but you're definitely implying it right now," Allie told her with a smirk.

"Phil's a good guy, Jillian," Susannah added. "He's a good one to like."

"I. Never. Said. I. Liked. Him." Jillian picked up her pillow, making the other two girls laugh when she hit them with it.

"Okay, okay." Allie straightened her hair out a little. "You just seem really excited about this dinner date, that's all."

Jillian rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't anybody?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's true..."

Susannah smiled. "It seems he may like you a little bit," she stated. "I mean, taking you out to dinner, inviting you for coffee..." Her sentence trailed off in a slight laugh when Jillian reached for her pillow again.

"He's being nice because of the whole incident yesterday," Jillian told them. "I'm sure of it."

Allie nodded. "Mm-hmm. Whatever you say, Jillian." But then, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Why did you start calling me last night anyway?"

"Oh. That." Jillian sighed, brushing some stray strands of hair out of her face. "Some guys almost robbed Chris last night."

Concern crossed Susannah's face. "Is he okay?" she asked.

Jillian nodded. "He's fine," she answered. "They didn't hurt him or take anything. But, I don't know... He seemed to be acting a little weird after."

"Maybe from being almost mugged?" Allie suggested. "I know I'd be acting weird if that happened to me."

"Yeah, maybe," Jillian muttered. "That's what Phil said too."

Susannah sighed, worried about her friend. Even though she trusted Jillian when she said he was okay, she just wanted to make sure. "I'll talk to him."

* * *

Chris sighed as he walked up the stairs from the lobby, heading back to his room. He ran his hand through his short hair, his mind still on the events of the night before. He could see all three faces of the men who had surrounded him clearly, the glint of the pocketknife as it was pulled out, their dark gazes as they glared at him. It unnerved him, but so did his own thoughts.

Could he have really given them what they wanted?

Then, he gasped when he reached his floor and went around the corner, walking into someone. Chris reached out and grabbed their arm to steady them, and a small smile appeared on his face when he saw who it was. "Oh, I'm sorry, Susannah," he said. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I wasn't watching either," Susannah replied, returning the smile. But then, concern crossed her face as she gave him a hug. "I was actually hoping to find you. Jillian told me about what happened last night."

Chris looked down at her with surprise as he hugged her back. "Oh," he muttered. "With the guys? Don't worry about that. I'm fine. They didn't hurt me or take anything. Okay?"

Susannah looked up at him, remembering Jillian had said the exact same thing. "You sure?" she asked. She could see the change in her friend when she mentioned the attempted mugging.

"Yes, I'm sure, " Chris answered with a smile, lightly brushing some hair out of her face before they parted. "So, uh, where are you headed?"

"I'm meeting Adam by the weight room," Susannah told him, having a feeling he wanted to change the subject. "Then we're heading out to do some sightseeing before the show."

_"So tomorrow after the show, I'm going to ask her."_

Chris stared at Susannah for a long moment, Adam's words from the night before echoing in his mind. That night was the night the other man was going to go through with his plan.

Susannah looked at her friend curiously, almost able to see his racing thoughts. "You okay, Chris?" she wondered.

After another minute, Chris nodded, and Susannah bit her lip. A new look had appeared in his eye, one she couldn't quite read, as he seemed to come to terms with something. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said quietly. "I hope you guys have fun, and I'll see you at the show later."

"Um... okay." Susannah watched as Chris walked away from her and continued his way down the hall, shaking her head slightly. She sighed once he was out of sight, turning and heading down the stairs.

* * *

"Wow, look at this view! It's amazing!"

Anna stood at the viewing platform railing of the Campanile clock tower that overlooked St. Mark's Square, looking down at all of the people below and over Venice. Mike came up next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"It really is," he said in agreement. "This city is so beautiful. You can see it probably a hundred times and never get tired of it."

"I can see why." Anna turned and gave him a small smile. "We need to come back here sometime. Preferably when you're not working."

Mike returned it, quickly kissing her cheek. "We'll see," he told her. "But I don't see why we couldn't. I'll make time."

Anna laughed a little before looking back down at the square below. "That's that one square Adam was taking Susannah to, right?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I think so," Mike muttered. "Seems about right. You can hear the live music down there." Then, he turned to look at his girlfriend. "Once we're done up here, wanna get a quick lunch before heading to the arena?"

"Sure," Anna replied, taking his hand. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

"So, this is... Piazza San Marco," Susannah said, looking up from her thin guidebook.

"Or... St. Mark's Square for those of us who can't speak Italian," Adam replied, tightening his hand around hers as they walked through the large crowd of people.

Susannah shrugged, putting the book back in her bag. "I probably butchered it." A broad smile appeared on her face as she looked around her. Besides the crowd, she loved the area. It was filled with tables since there were many cafes as music from live groups added to the fun atmosphere, and she noticed flocks of pigeons near the canal and perched on statues that surrounded the square, especially the one of the winged lion. "But I love this place!"

"I thought you'd like it," Adam muttered, giving her a smile as he led her toward one of the cafes. They got a table and sat down, simply watching the activity. He glanced at his girlfriend, smiling when she turned to meet his gaze. "We have to start heading to the arena soon, but after the show, do you wanna maybe look around a little more?

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Susannah told him, her broad smile lingering. "Hey, Addy, can we see that bridge?" She remembered how he had mentioned on their way to dinner the night before how everyone had loved that bridge, and she wanted to see it better.

Adam looked at her with surprise as a waiter started walking in their direction before he nodded, a small smile on his face as he placed his hand on top of hers. "Sure. I'll take you to that bridge."

* * *

Allie sat next to Jay, resting her head on his shoulder as the man pushed them slowly along the canal in the gondola. She watched as all the buildings passed by, taking a deep breath as her boyfriend tightened his arm around her. The boat ride through the city had proven to be relaxing.

"Enjoying it, Allie?" Jay asked quietly, smiling down at her.

"You bet!" Allie answered, raising her head to look back at him. "I love it! And not to mention it's amazing seeing the city. It's so beautiful."

Jay laughed a little. "Good. I'm glad," he muttered, brushing some loose hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face. "Then this was well worth it before the show."

Allie nodded, but before she could say anything, they both looked back at the man steering the boat when he began singing a love song in Italian, and she laughed a little as she took Jay's hand. "And we're serenaded," she said. "How perfect."

"I wasn't expecting that," Jay replied quietly, but he laughed along with her. "What can I say? It provides the right atmosphere."

"That it does." Allie smiled at her boyfriend, watching as he leaned closer to her and kissed her softly. She placed her hand on his shoulder as she kissed him back, Jay pulling her a little closer. She then smiled at him when they broke the kiss for a moment, brushing her fingers lightly over his cheek as they neared a bridge.

But before she could close the gap between them and kiss them again, Allie gasped quietly when she saw something on the bridge over them. Looking closer, she saw it was the same black-haired woman she had seen at the restaurant the night before. She was wearing sunglasses and black leather gloves, holding what appeared to be a video camera in her hands.

"What?" Jay wondered, looking at her curiously.

"That woman up there. She was at the restaurant last night," Allie told him, sighing when they started to go under the bridge.

Jay raised an eyebrow. "What woman?"

"Wait a minute." Allie sat tensely in the seat as they made their way under the bridge, tightening her hold on Jay's hands. It felt like it was taking forever...

When they finally came back out on the other side, Allie quickly turned around to look at the bridge, seeing the woman was still there but was starting to walk toward land. "See? There she is!" she said.

Jay's eyes narrowed slightly. "Okay, I see her," he replied. "What was she doing?"

Allie shook her head slightly. "I don't know," she muttered. "But I don't like it. I think she had a camera."

Sighing, Jay tightened his arm around Allie, forcing her to look in front of her. "Sometimes fans can get a little creepy, but it all comes with the business," he told her. "You know how that is. Whatever she was doing, I'm sure she's not causing any harm."

"Yeah, maybe..." Allie was glad for Jay's closeness as she laid her head on his shoulder again. She wanted to believe him, but for some reason, she felt when it came to this strange woman, it wasn't quite that simple.

* * *

Chris blankly watched as Adam made his way out to the ring met with cheers from the fans. He ran down the rest of the ramp and slid into the ring after his pyro went off, standing on the ropes and throwing his hand sign up as it was returned. He sighed heavily, the cheers for him echoing in his mind. He knew as soon as he walked out there, that sound would be replaced with booing. It was a sound that didn't bother him.

Until now. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the crowd's reaction to him that night when he went out to the ring to face one of his closest friends was going to sound different than others.

Then, Chris glanced to his right, seeing Susannah was standing in front of the nearby monitor, beaming as she watched Adam interact with the crowd in the ring. He could see the love she had for him in her eyes and in her smile, and he sighed as he looked away, waiting to hear his music.

"Have fun out there, Chris."

Chris looked up, seeing Susannah was looking at him with the smile still on her face. It was a kind smile, but it wasn't quite the same as when she looked at Adam. "It's a great crowd," she added.

"Yeah, it is," Chris agreed with a slight smile of his own. "Thanks, Susannah."

Susannah nodded as she looked back at the monitor, and Chris sighed when "Break the Walls Down" echoed around the arena. He slowly walked out onto the ramp, met with the boos he knew he was going to receive.

And for once, they did bother him.

* * *

"Thanks for coming to dinner with me tonight," Phil said with a smile.

Jillian returned it from where she sat in the chair across from him. They had gone to a restaurant not far from the arena after the show, finding the only available seats out on the deck overlooking a small canal. There were a couple candles sitting on the table between them, and she could hear the music coming from a violinist inside the restaurant. "Thanks for inviting me," she replied. "It was nice of you."

Phil shrugged. "Well, as I said, after the whole incident with the car yesterday..." he muttered. "Oh, have you had any trouble with getting that taken care of?"

"No, not really," Jillian told him. "It should be fine."

"Okay, good. I was a little concerned about that." Phil reached forward and picked up his menu from the table and started to look over his options. "Good thing for descriptions of the meals. I love eating something when I have no idea what it is because I can't pronounce it."

Jillian laughed a little, looking at her own menu. She couldn't help but think about her earlier conversation with Allie and Susannah when they had said she liked him. She had denied it then, but after the drive to the restaurant and even the short time they had been sitting, she had to admit they may have been onto something. "Yeah, that's always good," she agreed.

Phil glanced up at her, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Are you nervous?" he asked quietly.

"What? No," Jillian answered, though she hid her face in her menu as she pretended to focus more on it. "Why would I be?"

"You tell me." Laughing a little, Phil straightened up in his seat a little when a waiter came to offer them a drink. Both he and Jillian asked for water, and he smiled at her when the man walked away.

Jillian set her menu down, having decided what she wanted. "I'm not nervous," she repeated.

Phil nodded, though there was a smirk at the corner of his mouth. "Okay, I believe you, Jill," he muttered.

Then, Jillian shivered a little when a cool breeze rushed past them, suddenly wishing she had worn a warmer sweatshirt over her t-shirt. Phil noticed, and concern briefly crossed his face. "Are you cold? I can see if we can move inside."

But Jillian shook her head. "Oh, no, that's okay," she told him. "I'll be fine."

Phil raised an eyebrow when she gave him a small smile, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet. Jillian watched as he walked over to her, pulling his light sweatshirt off and draping it over her shoulders. "There you go," he said.

Jillian stared at him with surprise as he sat back down, feeling a slight brush creeping up to her cheeks. "But... won't you be cold?" she wondered. He was now only wearing a t-shirt over a lightweight long-sleeved shirt.

"Nah, I'm okay," Phil assured her with a wink. "After the show, the cool air feels good. Keep it while we eat."

"Uh... yeah, okay." Jillian looked away from his hazel eyes back to her menu, having to remind herself what she wanted, as she pulled his sweatshirt closer around her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Jill."

* * *

"You guys put on a good show tonight," Susannah said as she and Adam walked together down the dark street, led along by the street lamps. "That was a lot of fun. The crowd was great, especially when you speared Chris to get the win. They loved that!"

Adam smiled down at her, releasing her hand as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Thanks," he replied. "I thought so too. That crowd did have some great energy. And thank you for agreeing to walk around the city with me a little tonight."

"Of course." Susannah returned the smile, moving closer to him as she wrapped her arm around him too. "I love the atmosphere! It seems more magical at night."

"That it does."

The couple continued walking until they came to the bridge that overlooked the Grand Canal they had driven over to get to the restaurant the night before. Adam stopped, and Susannah marveled at the sight before her. The moon was half full in the night sky, casting a narrow ray on the water below as the lights from the city danced in its gentle waves.

"This really is beautiful," she muttered. "I see why you guys loved it so much last time."

Adam turned to his girlfriend, brushing some of her brown hair away from her face. "Susannah," he muttered when she looked over at him curiously. "I just wanted to say you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You've been with me through some of the greatest times in my life, but also some of the worst, and I don't think I can ever fully thank you for what you've done for me."

Susannah completely turned to face him, looking at him with confusion. "Adam..." But her sentence trailed off when Adam raised his hand.

"You're the most amazing girl I've ever met," he continued. "Sure, you've got your quirks, but that's what I love about you. You're my best friend, my equal, the person I can truly be myself around, my soul mate. I can't imagine a day without you, and I know there's no other woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Adam, what..." But again, Susannah found she couldn't finish when Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver, flower-patterned diamond ring.

"There's no other woman I want to spend the rest of my life with," Adam repeated quietly, slowly dropping down to one knee. "Susannah... Will you marry me?"

Susannah looked down at her boyfriend of three years in shock. This was the last thing she was expecting. But she felt tears form in her eyes as she looked away, laughing a little as she wiped her eyes. "Yes," she whispered, having hoped for this moment since she could remember. "Yes, of course I will."

Adam's smile mirrored hers as he gently took her left hand, sliding the ring on her finger. Then, he got to his feet, placing his hands on Susannah's waist as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. Susannah felt a couple more tears escape from her eyes, running her fingers through his hair. Her lips parted beneath his, allowing Adam to deepen the kiss as he pulled her against him.

"I love you," Susannah murmured, breaking the kiss for a moment as she lingered close to him.

"I love you too," Adam whispered before catching her lips again with the same intensity.

Then, Adam quickly pulled away when he heard the sound of car doors slamming, looking up as five men wearing leather jackets came closer to them. They all had shorter dark hair and clean shaven faces except for the one leading them, who had longer hair the same shade and a braided beard. Susannah clung to Adam tightly, getting a bad vibe since they were glaring darkly at her fiance. Adam looked at them carefully, putting his hand on her shoulder securely.

"Susannah, I want you to get out of here. I'll distract them," Adam whispered to her. "On the-!"

Before he could finish, one of the short-haired men quickly approached them, and Adam pushed her away from him as he punched him in the jaw. The man stumbled to the ground, and the other four men rushed forward. Susannah winced when she hit the ground too, watching with horror as Adam tried to fight off all of them as they kicked and hit him. She knew he could put up a decent fight, but she could see that they were starting to overpower him by their numbers.

Adam shoved one of the men away from him, but he collapsed to the ground when another kicked him forcefully in the back of the knees. He started to get up, crying out when a third man's foot connected with the side of his head, and he landed on his back in a daze. Another man then came up to him and brought his foot down forcefully on his stomach, causing him to wrap his arms around himself as he turned onto his side and cough as he tried to get air back into his lungs. Two men then came up to him, grabbing his arms as they pulled him to his knees, holding him up while the other three continued their assault. He was defenseless.

Acting on instinct, Susannah got to her feet and jumped on the back of the nearest man, the one with the longer hair and beard, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The man stumbled back from the others, trying to pull her arms from in front of his throat, but she didn't let go.

Realizing what was happening, the two other men who had been attacking Adam hurried over to them as the man began to slump to the ground, Susannah still not releasing her hold on him. One of them grabbed onto her hair and pulled, causing her to scream as she reached for his arm. The other man wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her off the man she had almost caused to pass out as he gasped for air.

Hearing her scream, Adam quickly looked up at his fiancee with horror. "Let her go!" he demanded as he tried to fight out of the hold of the last two men, only to be met with another knee in the stomach.

The two men paused as Adam slumped over, Susannah struggling in their hold. The man she had attacked slowly got to his feet, clearing his throat. "Do what you want," he told the two men holding the girl, his voice not containing an Italian accent. He must have been the one in charge.

"No!" Adam shouted, once again trying in vain to get to her when Susannah screamed as they pulled at her hair and arms. She clawed at their faces and lashed her foot out at them as they tore her light sweatshirt, succeeding in cutting one man across the cheek with her engagement ring, which only made him angrier. "Susannah!"

"Wait!" The man who had spoken first suddenly walked toward the two men, tilting Susannah's head to look up at him. "Let me handle this."

Susannah glared up at him, bringing her foot down heavily on his. The man grunted in pain, taking a step back before signaling to the men holding her. Susannah was shoved forward, and she gasped when the man she had attacked twice grabbed her arm and roughly began to drag her toward Adam and the two men holding him.

Adam met the man's gaze intently as he stopped in front of him, watching as his fiancee tried to fight out of his hold. "You'd better get a good look at her, Adam," he advised. "This is the last time you're going to see her."

"Don't hurt her!" Adam said anxiously, his throbbing body forgotten when he saw the look of pain on Susannah's face. He also wasn't sure how they knew his name, but it didn't really matter to him.

But the man only smirked, ignoring Susannah as she tried to get her arm free. "It's not her you should be concerned about," he muttered.

Before Adam could say anything, he felt something collide with the back of his head, a tremendous pain spreading through his skull before his vision went black. Susannah screamed as she watched him collapse limply to the ground. "Adam!"

Her attention was then switched to the man who held her when he grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her to look at him. "If you cooperate, we won't hurt you," he told her.

"What do you want with Adam?" Susannah wasn't too concerned about her current predicament as she tried to turn her head to find her fiance, but found she couldn't with the man's hold on her.

"That's for you to find out. You can only hope that it's in time." Then, the man shoved her roughly to the ground.

Susannah grunted with pain, feeling her palms get scratched on the pavement as she tried to catch her fall. But she didn't care as she immediately turned around, watching as the three men began to bring the unconscious Adam toward a dark car that was parked at the base of the bridge. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw a woman with black hair standing at the base of the bridge, holding a video camera as she watched what was going on with what appeared to be amusement. Ignoring her, Susannah started to get to her feet to go after them, but she was stopped by the last two men grabbing her arms and holding her back.

"No! Adam!" she screamed, tears falling freely from her eyes as she tried to fight out of their hold without success. She heard the car start, watching as it came to a stop in front of her. The two men holding her shoved her away, causing her to hit her head against the side of the bridge, and climbed in, and Susannah scooted back to avoid being run over as it sped off into the night.

But as soon as the lights were out of sight, Susannah cried out with frustration as she put her hands to her pounding head, hating her uselessness.

Adam was gone.

**Author's Note**: I know. I'm evil, lol. So who are they? Who's behind it? Why did they take him? Look for clues, they are there. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Things are definitely starting to pick up now. Who took Adam? Read on...

_Chapter 5_

Allie left the bathroom and sat down on the bed, grabbing her towel so she could start drying her hair from the shower she had just taken. She smiled when she felt a sturdy arm wrap around her waist, and she looked over at her boyfriend as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey," Jay said with a smile of his own, kissing her cheek quickly. "Shower feel good, Allie?"

"You bet," Allie replied, catching his lips quickly before she got up and went back into the bathroom to hang up her towel. Then, she came back into the main part of the room and pulled her cell phone out of her bag to check the time as she sat back down in her boyfriend's arms. "Do you think he's asked her yet?"

Jay looked at the glowing numbers on her phone's screen. "If he hasn't yet, I'm sure he will any minute," he muttered with a laugh. "It's about time Adam found the right girl for him. I'm glad he finally made the decision to propose."

"I am too," Allie agreed, closing her eyes as she snuggled against Jay's chest. "Took him long enough."

"You got that right. I thought he was never going to." Jay laughed, pulling his girlfriend closer. "Can't wait for Susannah _Copeland_ to tell us all about it."

"Me either." Allie sat up a little when she heard Jay's cell phone beginning to ring, watching as her boyfriend pulled it out of his pocket. "Is that her?"

"Yep!" Jay nodded as he quickly answered the call. "So, how does it feel?"

_"Jay..."_

As soon as he heard the girl he considered his sister's broken tone, the smile vanished from Jay's face. "Susannah, are you okay?" he asked anxiously, hardly noticing when Allie placed her hand on top of his. "What happened?"

_"I... These men took Adam. I don't know... why or where..."_ Susannah answered between what sounded like tears. _"Help..."_

Jay immediately got off the bed, pulling a light sweater out of his bag and slipping it on. "I will," he told her, hurrying to the door to get his shoes. "Just sit tight. Are you still by that bridge?" It was at that moment he was thankful Adam had told him the plans for his proposal.

Susannah took a deep breath. "_Yeah..." _she replied quietly. _"But Adam..."_

"We'll find him," Jay said, worried for his best friend as well. "But for now, hang in there. I'm coming to get you. Okay?"

_"Okay..."_

"I'll be right there," Jay repeated. "See you soon."

_"Bye, Jay."_

"What's wrong?" Allie asked, crossing the room to her boyfriend as he slipped his shoes on. "Jay, what happened?"

Jay sighed, looking back at Allie. "From what I gathered, some men took Adam and left Susannah behind," he answered quietly. "I'm going to go get her."

Allie's eyes widened with horror. "Oh, my God... Is she okay? Who were they? Do you want me to come with you?"

"Slow down," Jay muttered with a slight smile, brushing some hair behind her ear. "She sounds shaken. She doesn't know who they were. And no. You stay here. I don't know what kind of situation I'm walking into or if any of the men who took Adam are still hanging around. I don't want to take that chance."

"Okay," Allie reluctantly agreed. "God, this is awful... Bring Susannah back safely, Jay."

Jay pulled his girlfriend closer, leaning down and meeting her lips in a soft kiss. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I will."

* * *

"... Lost so much..."

"...He makes up for it... Off the hook..."

"... Fair payment..."

The first thing he was fully aware of was the intense pounding in his head. Adam resisted the urge to groan as his eyes slowly fluttered open. At first, he had no idea where he was. But then, he felt he was moving as light from street lamps filtered into wherever he was, and he realized he was on the floor in the backseat of a car. But where he was going and who he was with, he had no clue. The words he was hearing weren't making much sense to him.

But then, he felt a surge of panic run through him when he remembered what had happened. He had just proposed to Susannah. She had accepted. And then they were attacked...

Where was she?

"Will she tell the police?"

"She probably knows better. But we'll give her a formal warning once we get him to the hideout."

Adam was able to catch more of the conversation of the people in the car with him, but the words still weren't making much sense to him. But from what he could gather, Susannah wasn't anywhere near them, which he was grateful for. He wasn't sure what these people were planning on doing to him, but he felt better knowing his fiancee wasn't going to be involved. He would much rather go through it alone.

"How long do you think he's going to be out?"

"I don't know. He's strong. He may be coming to soon."

Adam quickly shut his eyes again when he heard the conversation shift back to him, hoping they hadn't noticed he was awake. The longer they thought he was still unconscious, the better. But he knew he couldn't keep the charade up forever. By that time, though, he would be ready to face whatever they threw at him.

* * *

Chris' hands were clenched tightly around the steering wheel as he pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. He found a spot toward the back and shut the car off, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. Sighing heavily, he ran his hand over his face and through his hair as he opened his eyes again, staring up at the dark ceiling.

He wasn't sure how long he sat behind the wheel before he finally got out of the car and slowly crossed the parking lot to the hotel. When he entered the lobby, he was surprised to see Allie sitting tensely in a chair against the wall, her face pale. "Allie, what's wrong?" Chris asked, crossing the room to her and placing his hand on her shoulder.

Allie jumped, looking up at him anxiously. "I... I don't really know," she answered quietly, a thin line of tears in her eyes. "Jay's getting Susannah..."

Chris sat in the chair next to her, looking at her with concern. "What happened?" he wondered.

"Adam's gone," she muttered. "Some people took him... I don't know any more than that."

"Gone?" Chris repeated, horror crossing his face. "Who-!"

"I don't know!" Allie snapped without meaning to before she sighed and put her head in her hands. "I just want Jay back... We'll know more when he gets Susannah."

Chris sighed too, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Okay, Allie," he said, trying to be calm. "Okay. Hopefully they'll be back soon." When she leaned into him a little, he tightened his arm around her. He was worried about Susannah as well since he knew what Adam had been planning for that night, and he hoped she was okay.

* * *

Susannah sat shivering against the side of the bridge, hugging her legs close to her chest as tears fell freely from her eyes. She still couldn't believe it. One moment, she had been the happiest she had ever been in her life since she was engaged to the man she loved. But the next, that had all been ripped away from her as five men she didn't know took him from her. She didn't understand what they wanted with him or what they were planning on doing.

Then, she gasped quietly when a pair of headlights passed over her as a car pulled to a stop on the bridge a short distance from her. The driver's door quickly opened, and she squinted in the bright lights since they hadn't even bothered to shut the car off to try to see who it was.

"Susannah?"

"Jay?" Susannah watched as the man she considered to be her brother knelt down in front of her.

"I'm here," Jay muttered as he looked her over. He noticed the scratches on her palms and the small trail of blood running down her cheek from when she had hit the side of her head, a small bruise starting to make its presence known also. But other than that, she didn't appear to have any serious injuries. He also saw her light sweatshirt was torn in a few places, and he quickly took his off and wrapped it around her to help shield her from the cool breeze since he knew her t-shirt wouldn't be enough.

Susannah pulled his sweatshirt closer around her, a sob escaping from her as a fresh wave of tears began. Jay pulled her close, wrapping one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees before he got to his feet, carrying her back to his car. He pulled open the passenger side door and set her carefully down, making sure she was all the way inside before shutting the door and running to get back in behind the wheel. He then turned the car around and began to drive back to the hotel, reaching over and placing his hand on Susannah's arm.

Feeling his light touch, Susannah glanced over at him, using her free hand to wipe her tears away. "I don't know why... they took him..." she whispered, her voice shaking.

Jay sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know either," he replied heavily. "But when we get back to the hotel, you can tell us what happened. Then we can figure out what to do to find Adam."

Susannah looked back out the window. "I don't know... where they went," she muttered. "I don't know where they took him... How can we find him then, Jay?"

"We will," Jay told her, giving her a small smile when she moved her eyes to him again. "I'm not sure how, but we're going to find him, Susannah. I promise."

The rest of the ride was silent, and Jay sighed as he found a parking spot in the hotel lot. He glanced at Susannah before getting out, walking around the car and opening her door before holding his hand out to her. Susannah looked at it for a moment before she took it, letting him help her to her feet.

"Thanks, Jay," she muttered before beginning to walk to the hotel in a sort of daze. Jay watched her sadly for a moment, running his hand through his hair before hurrying after her.

They entered the lobby together, not getting far before Allie rushed over to Susannah and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Are you okay?" she asked anxiously, looking into her pale, blank face.

"Yeah..." Susannah answered quietly, though her tone said otherwise.

Chris approached them as well, sighing as he wiped away some of the tears staining her cheeks. "What happened?" he wondered, noticing the thin trail of blood coming from her head.

Susannah looked up at him, grateful for Allie's arms still around her. But before she could say anything, she glanced behind her when Jay placed his hand on her shoulder.

"To make it easier on all of us, let's wait until the others come back," he suggested, looking down at the girl he considered his sister with worry. She seemed to be holding herself together a little better now that more people were around, but he could see it was taking a lot of effort as a silent tear fell from her eye.

Chris took a deep breath as he nodded, rubbing Susannah's back as she quickly wiped the stray tear away. "Good idea," he agreed. "Do you know when they're coming back?"

Jay pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, starting to go through his contacts. "No, but I'm calling them now."

* * *

"You sure you're going to be all right?" Jillian asked through her laughter as they left the restaurant and started to walk across the parking lot.

Phil rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. "Yeah, it's just a little water," he answered. "I'm not going to melt." Dinner had gone great for them up until a fan spilled some of his water on the back of his shirt out of his excitement to get an autograph.

Jillian returned it as they approached Phil's rental car. "Well, you must be a little chilly," she muttered, slipping off the sweatshirt he had let her borrow and held it out to him. "Here, you can take this back."

"I'll be fine," Phil replied as he pulled open the driver's door and unlocked the car.

"We're just going back to the hotel anyway," Jillian said as she climbed into the passenger seat. "You need it more than I do."

Phil shut the door as he got behind the wheel, sighing as he grabbed the sweatshirt. But his hand brushed against hers as he took it, and a small smirk appeared on his face when he noticed the slight blush that graced Jillian's cheeks. "Thanks." He slipped it on before putting on his seatbelt, waiting for her to do the same before he started the car.

Jillian nodded, giving him a smile. "Thanks for tonight, Phil," she told him. "I had a lot of fun."

"Good, I'm glad, Jill." Phil turned the radio down a little so they could talk easier, pulling out of the parking spot. "I did too."

Her smile broadened, but before Jillian could reply, her eyes narrowed slightly as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket when it started to vibrate. She saw Jay's name flashing on the screen, and she quickly answered it. "Hello?"

_"Jillian, you guys need to get back here now," _Jay said immediately.

"Why, what's going on?" Jillian asked, feeling anxious at his abruptness.Phil glanced at her before leaving the parking lot, heading in the direction of the hotel. Concern crossed his face when he saw the look of fear in her eyes.

Jay sighed. _"We're not exactly sure ourselves yet," _he answered. _"But Adam's been taken. We're not sure why or by who. We're hoping Susannah can provide us with more details when everyone comes back. Mike and Anna are already on their way."_

"Taken?" Jillian repeated, trying to make sense of what her friend was telling her. "Um, yeah, we'll be there soon. But... you don't know what happened?"

_"Not much," _Jay told her heavily. _"And that's what's concerning me... But we'll talk more when you guys get here."_

"Uh... okay," Jillian muttered, her anxiousness only fueled by the same feeling he was obviously having. "See you soon." She ended the call, setting her phone on her lap as she stared blankly at the road ahead of her.

"What happened?" Phil asked. "What was taken?"

But Jillian slowly shook her head. "Not what. Who," she answered quietly, looking at Phil with sorrow in her eyes. "Something happened to Adam."

* * *

"It was after the show," Susannah explained, not able to meet the gazes of the group sitting tense and silent around her. They were in her hotel room, Jillian, Allie, Anna, and Jay sitting on the bed with her. Phil paced the room while Mike listened from the couch closer to the door, Chris standing next to the bed. "We walked to that bridge everyone loves, and... and he asked me to marry him." She paused as tears rushed to her eyes, but she forced them back as she took a deep breath and looked down at the silver ring on her left hand. "But then... these five guys came. They attacked Adam. I tried stopping them, I really did..." Her sentence trailed off again as more tears formed in her eyes.

"It's not your fault, Susannah," Jay said, wrapping his arms around her. "You can't put this on yourself."

Susannah leaned into Jay, closing her eyes when tears fell from them. "I know," she muttered, trying to wipe the moisture from her eyes as he held her close. "But I feel like if I could have just done something more... things would have gone differently..."

Allie sighed, placing her hand on her devastated friend's back. "There were five of them," she told her. "I'm sure you did as much as you could. At least you weren't taken too!"

But Susannah shook her head. "They didn't want me," she replied, sitting up a little more.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well, they didn't take her," Phil brought up as he stopped his pacing. "There must have been a reason for leaving her behind. Leave some sort of witness maybe?"

"I don't know." Susannah took a deep breath as she looked at the group around her. "There was a point when they easily could have taken me too. But the man who seemed to be in charge told Adam he should be more concerned about himself before they knocked him out."

"So... you're saying this might not have been a random thing?" Mike wondered, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees.

Jillian sighed. "It doesn't seem like it. If it was, they probably would have taken Susannah too. Or... made sure there were no witnesses."

"That's what I thought," Susannah muttered, catching her hesitance. "They seemed to have a set purpose in mind to take Adam. I just don't know who they were."

"Would you recognize them if you saw them again?" Phil wondered.

Susannah nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "I think so."

Chris placed his hand on Susannah's shoulder. "Did they say anything that would give you an idea of what they want with Adam?"

"I don't... know..." Susannah sighed, running her hand through her hair as Jillian set her hand on her arm. "Well, one did tell me I had to figure out what they wanted in time. I don't know what it means, but..."

"We'll figure it out," Jay assured her, tightening his arm around her. "You'd think we'd hear something from them soon. Then, we can get Adam back."

Susannah looked up at him, seeing he was giving her a small smile. "I hope you're right, Jay."

* * *

Jay closed the door of Susannah's hotel room behind him as he stepped out into the hallway, sighing as he leaned back against the wall next to it. He had been the last one to leave since he had made sure the girl he considered his sister was asleep. After everything she had gone through that night, she needed the rest.

But he knew he couldn't say the same for him. Jay walked across the hallway and entered his own room, knowing he wasn't going to be sleeping that night. Not when his brother was in danger. He had remained calm in front of Susannah because he knew she needed it, but deep down, he was feeling exactly opposite.

He saw Allie was waiting for him since she walked over to him immediately and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "We're going to find Adam... aren't we, Jay?" she asked quietly.

The question echoed in Jay's mind as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, holding her close. Would they find Adam? He had been confident in his answer to Susannah, but she had also brought up some points he couldn't ignore. They didn't know who the men were, where they took him... "I don't know," he finally answered in nearly a whisper.

Allie looked up at him with concern, not sure she heard him right since his voice had been so quiet. "What?"

"I said I don't know!" Jay snapped without meaning to, releasing her as he walked past her into the room. Allie gasped and covered her mouth when she watched him shove his bag to the floor before pounding the bed forcefully. "We don't know who the hell they are! We don't know what they want!" He pounded the bed again out of frustration.

"There has to be something we can do," Allie muttered, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes.

Jay sighed. "I don't know what," he said quietly, his breathing heavy. Then, he cried out as he sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. "I just don't know why... they would take him..."

Allie looked at her boyfriend sadly as she lowered her hands. She knew this was very rough on him since the man he had grown up with was in danger, and they had no idea where he was or why he had been taken. It was hard on everyone else as well, but she knew it had to impact Jay and Susannah the worst.

She walked across the room and sat down next to him on the bed, wrapping her arms around him securely. Jay didn't say anything, hardly even acknowledging her as he stared blankly at the floor. "I don't know either, but we'll figure out something, Jay," she told him as she forced her tears back. "We'll find him."

Jay slowly raised his head, but he still didn't look at her. "How can you say that for sure?" he asked, his voice hardly audible. "What if we're too late? What if-!"

His sentence was abruptly cut off by Allie kissing his lips quickly. "We can't think like that," she answered, giving him a small smile when he looked at her with surprise. "Adam's strong. He's going to hang in there. We have to do the same. Not just for us, but for Adam too. We'll figure this out."

After a moment, Jay sighed as he nodded, some confidence replacing the defeated look in his eyes. "You're right, Allie, thank you," he muttered. "You're right. We'll find him."

Allie's smile broadened as she rested her head on his shoulder as Jay wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "That's the Jay I love."

* * *

_Susannah walked down the dark, narrow hallway, wrapping her arms around herself in an almost protective way as she stared at the door in front of her intently. The only sound was the echoing of her footsteps as she continued to walk, and she slowed to a stop in front of the door. She took a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder for a second before turning back around. It was at that moment she wished she wouldn't have gotten separated from Jay and the others in their search for Adam. They were stronger as a group. But she still slowly reached forward and placed her hand on the doorknob, hesitating before turning it._

_To her surprise, she heard a quiet click as the door opened, and she pushed it the rest of the way as she stepped inside the room. Susannah looked around, seeing it was small and also dimly lit. She took a couple of cautious step further inside, gasping and turning around when the door shut behind her. Starting to feel anxious, she turned back to the room, unsure if Adam would be kept there._

_Then, Susannah's eyes widened when she saw a familiar flash of blond hair, and looking closer, she saw a man she knew well lying on his stomach on the floor against the stone wall without his shirt. "Adam!" She ran over to him and dropped down next to him, placing her hand lightly on his back. "Adam, are you-!"_

_But she froze when she felt something damp under her hand, and she slowly lifted it. Her face drained of color and a scream ripped from her throat when she saw her fingers were stained with blood._

_Susannah immediately turned her attention back to her fiance, taking his shoulders and gently turning him onto his back. She gasped when she watched his head loll limply to the side, his eyes closed and his face sheet white. Looking closer, she saw there were dark bruises and deep cuts scattered across his face and upper body. She reached forward with a trembling hand and brushed some of his blond hair out of his face._

_"Ad... Adam?" Susannah whispered, her voice shaking as much as her hand as she rested it on his cold cheek. "Adam?"_

_But deep down, she knew he wasn't going to respond to her. Susannah leaned down closer to him so her ear was next to his mouth, not too surprised when she didn't feel his breath. Tears rushed to her eyes as she placed her hand on his still chest and straightened up a little, not able to hold them back as she looked down at the lifeless form of the man she loved. She had been too late. Adam was dead._

_Sobs shook her as she pulled him into her arms, holding him close as she buried her face in his hair. "Don't leave me," she murmured through her tears. "Adam, please... come back..."_

* * *

"_Adam_!"

Susannah sat straight up as she screamed his name, looking around at the dark room. She glanced next to her, seeing Adam's side of the bed was empty. Tears rushed to her eyes when she remembered what had happened earlier that night when he was taken, her nightmare fresh in her mind as she put her head in her hands and started to sob. His pale face was engrained in her memory, reminding her of what she assumed would happen if she didn't figure out who took him and why in time.

"Ad... Adam..." she whispered, her body shaking as she pulled her knees to her chest and curled up in a sort of protective ball.

She wasn't sure how long she sat on the bed like that, but once her tears slowed, Susannah wiped her eyes as she looked around at her empty hotel room again. She knew she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep that night, and she also knew being alone wouldn't be easy. She had to go to someone.

Susannah then got out of bed, taking a heavier sweatshirt out of her bag and pulling it on over her tank top before putting her cell phone in the pocket. She slipped her shoes on, not concerned about socks, and left her hotel room, shutting the door behind her before she walked across the hall and knocked on the one directly across from her.

The door opened a minute later and revealed Jay on the other side. A couple dark rings were present under his eyes, reflecting his own lack of sleep. "Are you okay, Susannah?" he asked, noticing her pale face and her red-rimmed eyes.

Sighing, Susannah slowly shook her head. "I just had... the worst dream," she answered quietly, a thin line of tears appearing in her eyes again though she tried to hold them back.

Jay's eyes narrowed sadly as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, rubbing her back a little when she held onto him tightly. "I'm glad you came then," he muttered with a sigh of his own. "You shouldn't be alone now."

"Can... can I stay with you?" Susannah wondered, looking up at him once she forced her tears back.

"Of course," Jay told her, giving her a small smile. "Come on in. We've dozed off a couple times, but we're not really sleeping either."

Susannah returned it, stepping into the room when Jay guided her in and closed the door. She saw the room was dark, the television being the only source of light. Allie was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the screen. But when she heard the sound of the door closing, she quickly looked up, surprise crossing her face when she saw the other girl.

"Hey," she said, getting to her feet and giving her a tight hug. "You all right?"

"I will be," Susannah replied quietly, hugging her back before they parted.

"She's going to be staying with us tonight," Jay told his girlfriend as he joined them.

"Good." Allie smiled at Susannah. "I'm glad about that."

"Thanks, Allie," Susannah muttered, returning the smile as she slipped her shoes off.

Jay placed his hand on the girl he considered his sister's shoulder. "Do you want to tell us about your nightmare?" he asked.

The smile vanished from Susannah's face. It was still clear in her mind, but when she thought about how pale Adam's face had been, she felt tears rising to her eyes again. "No," she answered quietly, the answer enabling her to force back the tears that threatened to fall. "At least, not yet. I don't think I can..."

"And you don't have to," Allie assured her, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "Come sit with me, and we'll watch... whatever's on TV. I don't even know anymore..."

Despite herself, Susannah laughed a little as she sat down on the bed close to Allie. Jay sat down close on her other side, wrapping his arm around her. Susannah smiled, feeling more secure between both of them as she turned her attention to the television. She knew she had made the right decision going to their room that night instead of going crazy alone in her own room.

But then, her eyes narrowed slightly with confusion when her phone began to ring from her sweatshirt pocket. Susannah felt Jay and Allie's eyes on her as she pulled it out, and her stomach tightened when she saw the name flashing on the screen.

It was Adam.

**Author's Note**: Gotta love the Jay and Adam brotherly relationship, lol. Anyway, I know I'm evil... haha. Reviews equal updates and what happens to poor Adam. Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Just keep earlier warnings in mind. And keep an eye out for any clues, they are there. Enjoy!

_Chapter 6_

Adam wasn't sure how long they had been driving before the car shut off. He lay still, continuing to give the impression he was unconscious, when he heard the doors opening and closing. Then, he felt a pair of hands grab his arms and pull him out of the car. It took all of his willpower not to react when he was set roughly on the hard ground for a moment, the group talking quietly around him. He listened intently, straining his ears for any clues as to why he had been targeted in the first place.

"Let's get him inside before we're noticed."

"Don't want anyone asking questions."

"At least we got what was promised. We're owed that much."

The last statement almost made Adam narrow his eyes slightly with confusion. Promised? Owed? He had no idea what that meant, but he had a feeling he was soon going to find out.

Then, Adam felt a pair of arms wrap under his, lifting his upper body up while another man grabbed his legs. He cracked his eyes open an inch, squinting to try to get an idea of his surroundings. He saw the group was walking away from the dark water of a canal as they entered what appeared to be a vast garage. Adam felt his nerves beginning to rise, having no idea where he was.

Finally, after passing what appeared to be rows of boats, they came to a stop in front of a door. Adam listened carefully for any hints as to what was happening, but he was only met with silence.

"We know you're awake. You can stop pretending whenever you like."

Adam felt dread course through him, wondering how long they knew he had actually been awake. Sighing, he slowly opened his eyes completely, looking up at the man still holding his legs up and the three men standing behind him. He glanced up, seeing the man with longer hair and the braided beard was the one supporting his upper body. "Where am I?" he wondered quietly, looking around at all five men in the dim light from the flickering lightbulb. "What do you want? I'll give you anything."

"You don't understand," the bearded man muttered, a cruel smirk crossing his face. "We don't want anything from you. It's you we want."

Before Adam could say anything, he heard footsteps coming nearer, and he watched as a woman with black hair like the rest of the gang walked over to them. In her hand was a video camera. "Are we ready?"

The bearded man laughed a little. "Yes, ma'am," he told her.

The woman smiled. "Then I'll set up," she replied. She then walked past them, going through the door they had stopped at.

Adam turned his head, trying to see what exactly she was setting up for, before he gasped with surprise when his legs were suddenly dropped. The bearded man tightened his arms around him so he couldn't escape, one of the other gang members opening the door again. He tried to struggle out of his hold but was unable to as he was shoved into a large, dimly lit room. Adam fell to the floor as the five men followed him inside, and he looked around to try to gain his surroundings. He noticed the room was empty other than a video camera on a tripod the woman was standing by, and he wondered why she had set it up.

Then, Adam got to his feet when a couple men approached him, punching one of them in the jaw as he kicked the other in the stomach. A couple more began to walk toward him while the man with longer hair merely stayed behind and watched, but before they could reach him, Adam suddenly cried out in pain as he put his hands to his ears, slowly dropping to his knees. His head felt like it was about to split in two as he continued to scream, collapsing to the floor as he writhed in agony. He had no idea what was happening, but he had never felt more pain. His concern rose when he felt something warm on his fingers as the pounding got worse, knowing it was blood.

The man with the longer hair walked over to Adam, looking down at him with what seemed to be amusement. Then, he glanced up and signaled for something to be cut off, and Adam sighed with relief when whatever had happened seemed to stop, though the pain still remained. He stayed lying on the floor as his breathing came quickly and shallowly, feeling as though he was unable to lift his head.

"Now that you're a bit more under control, we can get the show on the road," the man in charge muttered, and Adam watched as he took earplugs out. That would explain why he and the rest of the gang were unaffected by whatever had happened.

"What... what did you do to me?" he asked, his voice weak.

The man laughed a little as he crouched down next to him. "Sound wave," he answered with a smirk. "Too high to hear, but it's enough to make your ears bleed. Now." He reached forward, pulling Adam's cell phone out of his pocket since the other man didn't have the strength to stop him. "Let's give your pretty little girlfriend a call, shall we?"

* * *

Susannah stared down at the screen in shock. It was definitely Adam's name she saw, the number being one she knew just as well as her own. But she couldn't believe it could really be him calling...

"Put it on speaker," Jay suggested, his face blank as he looked down at the screen as well.

His voice brought her out of her thoughts, and Susannah nodded as she answered the call and quickly put it on speaker. "He-hello?"

There was a tense moment of silence where they waited for some sort of response, Susannah holding her breath. She hardly felt Allie grasp her arm tightly as she continued to stare at her phone. "Hello?" she repeated, her tone a little more confident.

_"Su... Susannah?"_

"Adam?" Susannah's eyes widened in shock when she heard her fiancé's voice. It was weak, but definitely him. "Oh, my God... Adam, are you okay?" Her eyes narrowed slightly when he didn't respond. "Adam? Adam!"

_"He's still here. Don't worry your pretty little head."_

Susannah felt her stomach tighten nervously. She recognized the voice of the man with long dark hair who seemed to be in charge. "Who are you?" she demanded, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes. "What do you want?" Allie's fingers didn't relinquish their iron grip on her arm, but it didn't bother her.

The man on the other line laughed. _"Who I am doesn't matter," _he told her. _"But I want to tell you to get no police involved. We haven't hurt your boyfriend... too bad. But if I so much as suspect you get any police, he'll be a lot worse off. Do you understand?"_

Her throat immediately went dry as Jay tightened his arm around her, and Susannah had to swallow to form a response. "Yes," she replied. "I get it, no police. But what do you want with Adam? What have you done to him?" She had heard the words "too bad," and she could only imagine what that truly meant.

_"He'll be fine," _the man said, though she could hear the smirk in his voice. _"He'll just have a bad headache for a while. Now, onto what we really want."_

"I'll give you anything," Susannah muttered, a tear escaping from her eye. "Tell me what you want, and you'll get it." But her eyes narrowed when the man laughed. "What?"

_"You're just like your boyfriend," _the man replied, still chuckling a little. _"You both think just because I take him, I demand something in return."_

"But... isn't that what you took him for?" Susannah asked, feeling her heart beginning to speed up. She glanced at Jay, who looked just as confused as she did.

_"No!"_ The man's frustrated tone made all three of them jump. _"No, no, no! I don't _want_ anything from either of you. That'd be too easy. It's _him_ I want."_

Susannah felt dread course through her. "Why?" she wondered. "What did he do? He doesn't deserve this!"

_"If only you knew," _the man muttered. _"But that, my dear, is what you need to figure out. I would try to hurry if I were you. You don't want to run out of time."_

Anger crossed Jay's face. They didn't even know these men. He had no idea what his best friend could have done that would cause someone to go to this extreme. But it only made him more determined to get him back. Allie felt a thin line of tears form in her eyes as she stared at the phone intently.

Susannah sighed, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Let me talk to him," she suddenly muttered, hoping her voice was controlled as more tears rose to her eyes.

There was a long moment of silence from the other end of the phone, and for a moment, she thought the man had hung up. But she saw the call was still connected, her anxiety spiking since there was nothing from the other end.

Finally, she heard a more welcoming but quiet voice. _"I'm here, Susannah,"_ Adam said, trying to sound strong.

Despite the situation, Susannah felt a small smile appear on her face. She was grateful just to hear his voice. "Are you okay?" she asked.

_"I've been better," _Adam answered, a slight laugh noticeable in his tone. _"But I'll live."_

Susannah took a deep, shuddering breath as she tried to force her tears back. "I know you will," she muttered. "But listen to me, Adam. Hang in there. I'll find you. I promise. I'm going to figure this out and find you."

There was a short moment of silence on the other end. _"Susannah..." _He sighed. _"I want you to know I love you. Don't ever forget that."_

"I... I love you too." A couple tears fell from her eyes. But then, Susannah heard shuffling sounds on the other end. "Adam? Adam!" But when she looked down at her phone, she sighed when she saw the call had been disconnected.

* * *

Jillian sighed as she stepped out into the hallway, closing the door to her room behind her. She rubbed her tired eyes as she walked toward the stairs and yawned. The disappearance of one of her closest friends was weighing heavily on her mind, robbing her of any sleep she would be getting that night. As hard as what happened was on her, she couldn't imagine what Susannah or Jay were going through since they knew Adam better.

But then, she gasped when she walked around the corner, nearly walking into someone. "Phil?" Jillian placed her hand on her chest as she closed her eyes and willed her heart to return to its normal rate. "What are you doing up?"

Phil Brooks gave her a small smile, placing his hand on her arm. He waited for a moment until she opened her eyes again before laughing a little. "I'm an insomniac," he explained. "I really don't sleep much."

"Oh. Don't you get tired?" Jillian wondered curiously as he lowered his arm.

"Sometimes. But I deal," Phil replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I was hoping you'd be awake. I wanted to make sure you were okay after... well, after tonight."

A sad look crossed Jillian's face. "Adam's a good friend of mine," she muttered. "I... I just hope he's okay. I mean... Why would someone take him, Phil? What do they want?"

Sighing, Phil shook his head. "I don't know," he told her honestly. "But that's what we need to find out. And we will. We'll find him, Jill. You heard Jay earlier." Then, he looked down at Jillian with surprise when she suddenly moved closer, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Once it wore off, he wrapped his arms around her too.

"We're going to get him back, Jill."

* * *

Chris slowly walked down the hallway, his mind racing. Adam was gone. He remembered the pain on Susannah's face as she told them what happened, knowing how hard it must have been for her to watch her recent fiance be ripped away from her. He couldn't imagine the extent of that pain.

Then, he came to a stop, his gaze landing on the door on his left. It was Susannah's room. Wondering how she was doing and figuring she wasn't getting much sleep, Chris walked up to the door and knocked.

"Susannah?" He waited for a couple minutes before knocking again. When she still didn't answer, he sighed and backed away from the door, staring at it for a moment longer before he continued to walk down the hall.

But he paused again, glancing over his shoulder at her room. Chris hoped that Susannah not answering was a good thing, hoping she was getting some much needed rest during what he knew had to be one of the hardest times of her life.

He just hoped she was okay.

* * *

Mike stared blankly up at the dark ceiling above him, not able to believe what had happened. He had no idea who would want to take Adam or why. The other man had been nothing but a good friend and guide to him since he joined the WWE. What had he done to deserve what happened?

He then glanced at Anna lying in bed next to him. Her eyes were closed, but that didn't necessarily mean she had fallen asleep. He knew thoughts of what had happened that night were on her mind as well. Sighing, Mike reached over and gently brushed away some dark curls that had fallen into her face, smiling slightly when he watched her eyes slowly open.

"You okay?" he asked in nearly a whisper.

Anna nodded with a yawn as she moved a little closer to him. "Yeah," she answered just as quietly. "Just thinking..."

"Me too," Mike muttered. "I don't understand this at all. I mean... why Adam?"

"I don't know," Anna replied, resting her head on his chest when he wrapped his arms around her. "We don't know the guys who did this. We don't know where they took him. How are we going to find him?"

Mike let out a deep breath, resting his chin on top of her head as he looked out the window at the dark sky. He had the same concern himself, he just hadn't wanted to voice it. "We will," he told her. "I don't know how, but somehow, we'll figure out who did this. We have to. He would do the same for any of us."

Anna sighed, holding onto her boyfriend tightly. "You're right," she muttered. "I just hope we're not too late."

* * *

Adam winced when he was roughly shoved into a dimly-lit room after he had been dragged down a dark hallway, having a hard time catching himself since his hands were now tied in front of him. He lay on the floor for a minute, hearing the laughter of the couple gang members who had brought him to the other room before the door shut and locked behind him. Sighing, he pushed himself to his knees to look around at where he would be staying. Though smaller, it was still as empty as the larger one save a few wooden shelves on the wall, which appeared to have nothing on them other than layers of dust. Judging by the boats he had seen in the large garage, Adam assumed this had been used as a storage room at one point.

He wrapped his arms around him as best he could, shivering a little since he was now only wearing his jeans and felt much colder without his t-shirt. Adam got to his feet, starting to pace the room in hopes it would warm him up a little. But then he paused, closing his eyes when his head started pounding. The pain from the high-pitched tone the gang had used on him before was still there, as well as the bruises and scratches he was sure he had from the short scuffle he had gotten into after who he thought was the leader of the group called Susannah.

Susannah. The thought of his fiancee pierced Adam's heart. He could hear her tears and her fear when the long-haired leader had let him talk to her, though she had tried to be confident when she told him she was going to figure out who did this and find him. Though the more he thought about it, the more he wanted her not to get anywhere near these people since they were so dangerous. He didn't want her getting hurt.

But at least he had heard her voice. That would be enough to help him get through this.

Then, Adam quickly looked behind him when he heard the lock of the door. He sat down against the wall closest to him, watching as the door opened and the woman walked in, video camera and tripod in hand. He smirked to himself. He knew he could overpower her pretty easily and get out of the room if he wanted to. But then, the look vanished when he saw the man with longer hair and the braided beard come in after her, knowing that wasn't going to be an option.

"Hello, Adam," the woman said quietly but in a cheerful manner as she started to set up the tripod.

Adam didn't answer, instead looking away from them. He didn't want any part in what she had in mind, though he had no doubt he would soon be forced into it.

The man laughed a little as he approached the woman, winding his arm around her waist while she worked. "Someone's not in a good mood," he muttered.

"No, not at all," the woman replied, smiling up at the man before she gave him a quick kiss.

Adam glanced at them, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't too surprised to find out they were a couple. They were perfect for each other.

"But I guess we really can't blame him," the woman continued, turning to look back at their captive. "Taking him from his girlfriend the way we did. Has to be hard."

"How would you two like to see how it feels?" Adam snapped, his tone short.

Anger flared in the bearded man's eyes, and he quickly crossed the room to him. Adam moved along the wall a little, but he didn't get far when the man crouched next to him and wrapped his fingers tightly around his neck. Adam raised his tied hands and grabbed his arm to try to pull it away, but the other man's hold was too strong as he pushed his head back against the wall.

"If you ever lay one hand on her, I'll-!"

"Wait!" the woman suddenly said, hurrying over to her boyfriend and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Wait. We need him conscious for this. Besides, there isn't much he could do."

The man glared down at Adam, who was still anxiously trying to pull his hand away, for a moment longer before releasing his neck and shoving him to the floor. Adam lay on the cold ground for a minute, coughing forcefully as he tried to get air back into his lungs. The woman watched her boyfriend walk away from them, running his hand through his dark hair with a heavy sigh, before turning her attention back to Adam. She placed her hand lightly on his arm, seeing him flinch from her touch before he looked up at her curiously when she didn't hurt him. Then, she grabbed both of his arms and helped him back up into a sitting position, brushing some of his blond hair out of his face before she got to her feet. Adam watched with confusion as she walked away, his breathing heavy.

The woman stopped behind the camera she had set up, turning it on. She moved her dark eyes to Adam, a small smile appearing on her face when she watched him turn his head away from the camera and close his eyes.

"It's show time."

* * *

Allie slowly opened her eyes when light from the early morning sun filtering into the room hit them, taking a deep breath as she turned over on the bed and buried her face in Jay's chest. She heard the television still playing softly in the background since they had left it on the night before when the three of them tried to get some sleep. Wondering how Susannah was doing, Allie yawned as she pushed herself up on one arm, hoping not to wake Jay, and looked over at the couch closer to the door her friend was using.

But her eyes widened in horror when she saw it was empty, the extra pillow and blanket they had given her sitting neatly folded in a pile on the end the only indication she had been there at all.

"Jay!" Allie said anxiously, sitting straight up and shaking her boyfriend. "Jay, wake up!"

Groaning quietly, Jay's eyes fluttered open as he looked up at her with confusion. "Allie, what..."

"Come on!" Allie continued, smacking his chest. "Jay, Susannah's gone!"

This got Jay's attention, and he immediately sat up and looked at the couch. Dread coursed through him when he saw it was truly empty. "Damn it," he muttered, quickly getting off the bed.

Allie watched as he changed into a fresh pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt. "Where do you think she went?" she asked, concerned about her friend. It wasn't like her to just disappear without saying a word.

Jay sighed. "I'm not sure, and that's what worries me," he answered. "I'm going to go see if she went back to her room by any chance. I'll be right back." He quickly left the room, crossing the hall and knocking on the door of the room Susannah and Adam had been using. He waited for a couple minutes before knocking again, but still, he got no answer.

When he went back to his room, he saw Allie had changed as well and was making up the bed. "Any luck?" she wondered hopefully.

"No," Jay told her as he shook his head. "I'm not sure where else she'd go..."

Allie looked at him sadly before walking over to him and wrapping her arms around him. "Well, she and Adam walked to that bridge last night, right?" she said. "That means their car is still here. I guess she could have taken it and gone somewhere..."

Jay thought over her words carefully, but it wasn't the car comment that made him suddenly realize where the girl he considered his sister most likely was. "Thanks, Allie," he muttered, kissing her quickly. "I know where she went."

"Really? Where?" Allie asked as he went back to his bag.

But Jay didn't give her an answer as he pulled out his light sweatshirt, slipping it on and zipping it up a little. "Come on, get your shoes," he told her. "We'll go get her."

* * *

Susannah made sure the rental car was locked up before she slowly walked onto the bridge. She stood in the same spot she had the night before, looking out at the canal beneath her and the city around her with a blank look on her face. The water appeared darker due to the overcast clouds, but she found it was only fitting. It was here where her other half had been taken from her.

A thin line of tears formed in her eyes as she looked down at the silver, flower-patterned engagement ring on her left hand. She remembered Adam's marriage proposal, how happy she had been when she accepted, the last kiss they shared when she believed she was going to spend the rest of her life with him.

And then, in a matter of moments, all of that was gone. That night only felt like a dream to her now. Susannah wasn't sure what they were doing to Adam, but she could hear the pain he was trying to hide from his voice when the gang leader had let her talk to him. She hadn't tried to let him know, but it was breaking her heart.

Susannah quickly looked up when she heard another car pull up, and she was instantly reminded of the previous night since it was also black. But a much more welcome face stepped out, and she couldn't help the small smile that formed on her face as she leaned on the side of the bridge and looked back out at the canal.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked quietly.

"Lucky guess," Chris answered with a shrug as he leaned on the bridge next to her. He looked down at her, seeing her eyes were downcast. "You okay?"

Susannah sighed, wringing her hands for a moment before meeting his concerned gaze. "As okay as I can be," she told him, blinking her tears away. "I'm not giving up on him, Chris. I'm going to find him."

Chris looked at her for a long moment before wrapping his arm securely around her shoulders. "I'm glad to hear that," he muttered, resting his chin on her head when she leaned into him. "Stay strong. We'll figure it out."

"I will." Susannah knew she would continue to stay strong for Adam, especially after the nightmare she had and the phone call she had gotten the night before. Deep down, she knew if they couldn't figure out who had taken him in time, he would die.

They stood like that for a long moment, Susannah finding comfort in one of her best friends being so close, before they looked up when they heard a third car approach. Susannah smiled when she saw Jay and Allie climb out, looks of relief crossing their faces when they saw her. She moved out from under Chris' arm as they hurried over, laughing a little when they both wrapped their arms around her tightly.

"Am I really that predictable where everyone's going to find me here?" Susannah wondered in a slightly joking way.

"You almost gave us a heart attack!" Allie scolded, but she faintly smiled as she and Jay let go of Susannah. "Next time, don't run off without saying anything!"

"I'm sorry," Susannah told her sincerely. "But I just needed some time to think, that's all."

"Yeah, well, give us a head's up next time," Jay replied with a smile of his own, ruffling Susannah's hair.

Susannah rolled her eyes as she tried to straighten her hair out again. But before she could say anything, something on the ground caught her eye. She looked closer, seeing it was a small pocket notebook with a blue cover. She wouldn't have paid much attention to it, but the lower corner was folded up slightly and revealed one word that almost made her heart stop.

_Adam._

Jay narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw Susannah's face pale a little. "What's wrong?" he asked.

But Susannah ignored him, instead slowly kneeling on the ground and picking up the notebook. She opened to the first page, her eyes widening slightly as she read over the neat handwriting.

"What is it?" Chris wondered, looking at the notebook nervously when he saw the fear on her face.

Susannah slowly looked up at the three people standing above her, sighing as she shook her head slightly. "They're plans," she told them. "Plans to take Adam."

* * *

The drive back to the hotel was quick, mainly because Susannah wasn't paying much attention to it. She found a spot to park toward the back of the lot, both Chris and Jay finding spots close by. The four of them walked into the hotel together, Susannah looking at the first couple pages of the notebook she had found intently.

"So, they're plans to take Adam, you said?" Jay asked as they crossed the lobby.

"Yeah," Susannah answered quietly. "Everything is in here. Watching everyone, the ambush at the bridge..."

"I wonder how long they've been planning this," Allie muttered thoughtfully as they started to walk up the stairs. "It's definitely not a random thing if they have all their plans written in a notebook."

"Depending on what they think Adam did, they may have been planning this for a while," Chris added.

Susannah looked up at him, about to come back with a response that Adam hadn't done anything, but she suddenly froze when she noticed a familiar face in the lobby below. It was a woman with flowing black hair and dark eyes, a smirk on her face and a video camera in her hand. Susannah gasped, recognizing her immediately as memories of what happened to Adam came rushing back to her.

It was the woman who had been with the gang the night before.

**Author's Note**: Just have to say that this story won't be getting any less evil as it progresses, lol! Will Adam survive? Find any clues? Leave your guesses as to who's behind it. Review, please!


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Just keep earlier warnings in mind. And keep an eye out for any clues, they are there. Enjoy!

_Chapter 7_

Susannah stared at the woman with horror, watching as her smirk broadened when their gazes met. Jay looked at her with concern.

"What is it?" he asked.

"That woman," Susannah answered quietly, unable to move her eyes from her dark ones. "In the lobby with the camera... She was there last night when Adam was taken."

Jay and Chris quickly looked down at the lobby, spotting the dark-haired woman as she turned and began to walk toward the door of the hotel. "Her?" Chris wondered. When Susannah nodded, he turned his attention back to Jay. "Let's go." Jay nodded, and they both began running back down toward the lobby.

"I've seen her before," Allie muttered to Susannah as they followed them down the stairs. "She was at the restaurant when we went out to dinner that night, and she was around when Jay and I were sightseeing."

"Really? I wouldn't be surprised if she's been watching all of us," Susannah replied, putting the pocket notebook in her light sweatshirt as the four of them hurried across the lobby when the woman stepped outside. "There were mentions of keeping an eye on us in this."

"This is a good thing, Susannah," Allie told her as they ran outside after her. "If she truly is part of that gang, we can hopefully get some information out of her."

"Yeah, once we catch her," Jay suddenly said from in front of them.

Susannah and Allie looked up, watching in disbelief as the woman started running across the nearby street, not paying any mind to the busy traffic. "You're kidding me," the latter muttered, listening as the sound of car horns echoed around them.

Chris shook his head slightly as she weaved her way through oncoming cars. "She's crazy."

Jay watched as the woman continued to make her way across the street, ignoring angry gestures and heated threats from all the drivers. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. This woman could have been their only chance to get any sort of clue to his best friend's location. He couldn't let that slip away. So, without thinking twice, Jay rushed out into the street after her.

"What the hell, Jay?" Allie shouted after him when Jay put his arm out as a car had to slam on its brakes to keep from hitting him, causing more blaring car horns. "You idiot!"

Susannah gasped and covered her eyes, peeking through her fingers as Jay rolled over the hood of an oncoming car as he kept running while Chris' eyes widened with horror. Allie sighed, putting her hand to her head. She didn't want to watch her boyfriend get run over.

Jay maneuvered his way through the busy traffic, dancing around cars that were angrily honking at him as he kept his eye on the woman in front of him. He inwardly cursed when she reached the sidewalk, pushing her way through the crowd that had formed on the other side of the street to see what all the commotion was. He spun to avoid a car that nearly didn't stop in time, jumping onto the sidewalk and running after her. A triumphant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth when he grabbed the dark-haired woman's arm, pulling her close when she tried to struggle free.

"You're not going anywhere," Jay muttered while he tried to catch his breath, seeing the dark look she was giving him as he pulled her back toward the street. He ignored the stares he was getting as he led her to the corner, waiting for the light to turn before using the crosswalk to get back to the other side.

Susannah, Chris, and Allie ran to meet him at the corner. "Jay, you are such an ass!" his girlfriend snapped, narrowing her eyes up at him. "How could you do that?"

Jay looked back at her with surprise, rolling his eyes. "Glad to know you care, Allie," he muttered. "But at least we caught our friend here. It would have been a shame to have her get away." He turned his attention to the black-haired woman he was holding onto, seeing her dark eyes were on Susannah. He then looked at his sister figure, seeing she was staring right back at her with no expression on her face.

Chris glanced at Susannah before turning to the woman, reaching out and taking the video camera from her hand. "I'll be curious to see what's on this," he said, smirking at her when she moved her eyes to him.

"Yeah, so will I," Jay agreed, beginning to pull her with him as he walked toward the hotel, the other three right behind him. "It's time to get some answers."

* * *

_Adam leaned back against his pillow on the bed in their hotel room, Susannah in his arms with her head resting on his chest as they watched a late-night movie on television. He absently ran his hand through her hair as the young couple on the screen over-dramatically confessed their love to each other, smiling slightly when she suddenly raised her gaze to look at him._

_"Can I ask you something?"_

_"Sure." Adam looked at his recent girlfriend with confusion as his smile slowly vanished, the question catching him off guard._

_Susannah sighed as she propped herself up on one arm. "Okay. You know I really like you, right?" When Adam nodded, she continued. "Well, I've never really been in a serious relationship before. At least one where I could go from liking someone to... actually loving them. I don't know if I'm ready to have that kind of... connection yet."_

_Adam sat up a little too, brushing some hair behind her ear before resting his hand on her cheek. "I'm not going to rush you," he told her. "Take your time, we'll go at your pace. I'm in no hurry."_

_"You're... not mad?" Susannah wondered. "I mean, we've been together for some time, and I just realized I've never said those words to you." Her eyes narrowed slightly when Adam chuckled quietly. "What?"_

_"Nothing. I swear, I'm not laughing at what you're saying," Adam replied, shaking his head slightly as he grinned broadly at her. "I understand what you mean. But what I find a little amusing is you're getting all of this from a cheesy romance movie."_

_Susannah rolled her eyes, placing her head on his chest again as she turned her attention back to the screen. The couple was now kissing in the rain, and she sighed as she closed her eyes. "Yeah, well, it's hard not to think about it when it's right in front of you," she said flatly._

_Adam looked down at her for a long moment, putting his hand beneath her chin and tilting her head up to face him. He gave Susannah a small smile when he saw she was looking at him curiously. "Listen," he told her quietly. "I don't want you to feel rushed. I want you to be comfortable. It doesn't matter to me where we stand as long as you're okay with it. And for those words, they're just words. You shouldn't have to worry about whether you're saying them or not. I don't want to hear them until _you_ mean them. Okay?"_

_Returning the smile, Susannah wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thanks for understanding," she muttered, letting out a relieved sigh. "It's just... I want to get there, but..."_

_"Whenever you're ready." Then, Adam closed the gap between them as he kissed her softly. "For now, I really like you too."_

* * *

Adam slowly moved along the wall, leaning his shoulder against it for support as he made his way around the small, dimly-lit room. He thought the sound wave had been bad enough, but his back was left throbbing after what the man in charge of the gang had done during the video the woman had made for his friends who he was sure were looking for him. The small spikes that had been on the bottom of his shoe had cut up his back, and he had barely slept through the night on the hard, damp floor due to all of the pain he was still in.

And now, he was wandering aimlessly around the room, unsure of what he was looking for. He wasn't sure what else these people had in store for him, but after what had already happened, Adam knew he had to try to find something to defend himself with, though he wasn't sure what he was going to find in the empty room. But he knew he couldn't give up, not only for himself, but for the girl on his mind he was determined to get back to.

He reached the wall with the couple wooden shelves, and he ran his tied hands over the dust covered bottom one, only to find it was empty. Sighing, Adam moved on to the second one, met with the same result. But when he moved his hands to the third one, he hissed in surprise when he pricked his finger on something sharp, quickly lowering his arms and seeing a tiny drop of blood on his left ring finger.

"Wait..." Adam reached up to the third shelf again and carefully felt around for the sharp object, finally feeling something cool beneath his fingertips. He picked it up, seeing it was a fishhook. Being kept in an old storage room, he wasn't surprised to find something laying around that had been left behind. A small smile appeared on his face as he held it in his palm. It was small and couldn't do much damage, but at least it would give him a slight chance since he had the element of surprise on his side. It was only temporary, but it was something.

Then, Adam quickly looked over his shoulder when he heard the click of the lock, and the door swung open a minute later. He kept the hook hidden in his hand as two of the clean-shaven gang members entered the room, identical smirks on their faces as they walked toward him. He tensed slightly when one of them roughly grabbed his arm.

"All right, we-!"

But the man was cut off when Adam suddenly kneed him in the stomach, causing him to double over as he coughed. The second man rushed at him, and Adam quickly raised his hands, watching as the small hook cut open his cheek. He cried out in pain, stumbling back away from him with his hand at his face. After catching his breath, the first man approached him again, but Adam used the hook to cut across his face as well. Once he was sure both of his assailants were shocked enough, he began to make his way to the door.

Then, Adam screamed when his head suddenly felt like it was going to split in two, and the hook fell from his hand as he dropped to his knees. He remembered this pain clearly, but this time, he was unable to cover his ears. He glanced behind him, seeing the two men who had come into the room were also writhing on the floor, and he looked up when he felt a shadow fall over him. He found himself looking into the dark eyes of the long-haired leader of the group flanked by the last two remaining members, and since they were unaffected by the sound wave, he figured they were wearing earplugs.

"Please... stop..." Adam whispered, shutting his eyes tightly when the pain in his head only intensified as he tried his best to cover his ears.

Finally, Adam collapsed to the floor when the sound wave did stop. He continued to lay on the ground, his eyes closed as he gasped for breath and willed the nausea that had risen in him to wane. His head continued to pound, and he didn't know how much more of that punishment he could take.

"Didn't know you had that much fight left in you," the bearded man muttered, bending over and picking up the hook Adam had used for a weapon before sticking it in his pocket. "We'll get that out of you soon enough." He then turned to the men standing with him. "Bring him out."

"What about them?" one of the men asked, gesturing to the other two members of their gang who had been affected by the attack.

The long-haired leader looked at them for a minute, watching as they groaned and slowly made their way up to their knees with their hands at their heads, before smiling. "They'll join us when they're ready," he answered quietly before leaving the room. "Bring him."

Sighing, the two remaining gang members looked at each other before grabbing Adam's arms, noticing he wasn't putting up much of a struggle as they pulled him to his feet. They partly dragged him along with them as they walked down the narrow, dimly lit hallway out to the larger room where a table had been set up. But as Adam wearily looked around, he noticed one of the members was missing.

"Where's your girlfriend?" he wondered with a slight smirk as he was led over to the table.

The long-haired man looked back at him, a dark look in his eyes. "She went to check on your friends," he told him. "She'll be back soon." Then, he looked at the two men holding their captive, nodding to the table before he walked past it.

Adam hesitated for a minute as they began to drag him forward, but the resistance didn't last long when they pulled him to the table. They laid him down on his stomach, pulling his tied hands above his head and attaching the rope around his wrists to another one wound around one of the table's legs. Adam tried to struggle out of the ropes with no success as the men backed away from him, sighing as he continued anyway. He had no idea what they had in mind to do with him, but he knew it couldn't be good if he was being restrained.

He heard a door open and close from across the room, and Adam glanced over his shoulder, watching as the leader of the group approached the table. His eyes widened slightly when he saw he was holding what appeared to be a long piece of sandpaper and a bottle of some kind of nearly clear liquid in his hands.

The long-haired man smirked when he noticed the fear on their captive's face. "You have every reason to be nervous," he told him with a slight laugh. "You know what happens when you put salt on an open cut?" He didn't wait for Adam to answer as he held up the bottle. "Lemon juice does the trick too."

Adam's heart dropped when he realized what the man had in mind, and he turned his attention back to his bound hands as his efforts to escape only increased. But the leader of the group continued to laugh, the other two men getting a firm hold of Adam's legs.

"You can struggle all you want," he muttered, putting the bottle in the pocket of his leather jacket. "But I regret to tell you this will still hurt." He then straightened out the sandpaper.

"Don't..." Adam said quietly, frantically trying to get his hands free without success. "Please..."

But his words had no effect, and Adam's entire body tensed when he felt the rough material run slowly down his back.

* * *

"So I take it you didn't get much sleep either?"

Phil looked up when he heard the question, seeing a girl with brown, curly hair and blond highlights was looking at him. "Well, actually, I usually don't sleep much anyway," he told her. But then, he sighed, running his hand through his black hair. "But no. Last night was hard."

Anna sighed as she slowly nodded. She and Mike had gone to the cafe for a late breakfast, and while he had gone to order their food, she had gone to the table where Phil was sitting alone at since she recognized him as being one of the men who had been with Susannah the night before. He looked exhausted, which was what started their conversation.

"If you want to sit here, take a seat," Phil said, gesturing to the empty chairs across from him.

"Really?" Anna wondered.

"We're working for the same reason, are we not?" Phil countered with a slight smile. "I like to know the people I'm working with."

Despite herself, Anna felt a small smile appear on her own face, and she sat in the chair across from him. "Yeah, that's true," she replied. "I feel so bad for Susannah. This has to be so hard on her. I don't know who'd want to take Adam, but..."

"That's what we're going to figure out," Phil muttered. His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're... Mike's girlfriend, right? I thought I saw you with him last night."

"Yeah, I'm Mike's girlfriend. Anna." She stuck her hand out. "How well do you know Susannah?"

"Phil." The Straightedge Superstar shook her proffered hand. "Well, I honestly don't know her that well. I've talked to her a few times since she's been dating Adam the past three years. But that's really about it... I probably wouldn't even be involved in any of this if I hadn't met Jill. I want to help. You and Susannah know each other well?"

Anna nodded. "I've known her and Adam since I started dating Mike four months ago," she explained. "Ever since, they've been some of my best friends, along with everyone else who was there last night. When you travel with people so much, you're bound to get close."

"That's true," Phil agreed quietly. "You know, I've been thinking about this all night. I know we decided this wasn't random, but what I don't understand is why Adam? I've known him for a long time, and I can't think of anything that would cause someone to do this to him. He's a good guy."

"Mike and I were talking about that too," Anna replied. "We don't understand it either." She paused thoughtfully. "Has anyone thought of calling the police?"

"What could we tell them?" Phil wondered. "We don't know the guys who did this or what possible motive they would have."

Anna shrugged. "We could always say that Adam was taken," she suggested. "That way, they could at least keep an eye out for him."

Phil looked at her for a long moment before slowly pulling out his cell phone. "Yeah, I guess we could do that," he muttered. "It couldn't hurt. At least we'd be getting something done." But before he could start dialing the number, he looked up when someone else joined them at the table, smiling slightly when he watched Mike sit down next to his girlfriend. "Hey."

"Hey, Phil," Mike said, handing Anna her blueberry muffin and latte. "Rough night, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." Phil sighed, looking back down at his phone again. "Anna and I were just thinking of calling the police about what happened. It couldn't hurt..."

Mike looked at him for a moment before taking a sip of his coffee. "Why didn't we think of that last night?" he wondered.

Phil slowly shook his head. "Shock maybe? I mean, one of our friends is in some sort of danger, and we have no idea why. None of us were really thinking last night."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mike replied. "So, you're going to call them now and say what?"

"Basically that Adam's missing. That way, they could at least take a look around," Phil told him. When Mike nodded in agreement, the Straightedge Superstar began to put the numbers in his phone.

But he was once again interrupted when another call came in, and Phil narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw Jillian's name flashing on the screen before quickly answering the call. "Jill?"

_"Phil, where are you?"_ Jillian asked immediately.

"Um, in the cafe with Anna and Mike," Phil answered, a little unnerved by her abruptness. "We thought it would be a good idea to call the police, so-!"

_"Don't!" _Jillian said anxiously, cutting him off. _"We can't do that."_

Phil's eyes narrowed more. "Wait, why?" he wondered. "Jill, what's going on?"

Jillian sighed from the other end. _"Susannah got a call from the people who took Adam last night," _she explained. _"They told her to get no police involved and threatened Adam if she did. But I'll tell you more when you guys get here. We're in Chris' room."_

"What's in Chris' room?" Phil looked at Mike and Anna, seeing they were watching him with confusion.

_"Susannah, Allison, Jay, and Chris may have caught someone involved in what happened to Adam," _Jillian said.

Phil's eyes widened slightly, not expecting to hear that. "Okay, Jill, we'll be right there," he told her before he ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket.

"What's going on?" Mike asked, watching as Phil got to his feet.

"Come on, we have to meet the others," Phil answered, taking his light sweatshirt from the back of his chair. "Bring your stuff. They have someone who may have been involved with what happened last night."

Mike's eyes widened as well, and he quickly to his feet with Anna next to him. Grabbing their drinks and food, they pushed the chairs in and quickly followed Phil as they rushed out of the cafe.

* * *

Susannah sighed as she stared out the window at the gray sky above the city, her fingers running over the cool metal of the silver necklace Adam had given her on their last anniversary. It was simple- two thin, intertwined hearts. But it was her favorite since it served as a constant reminder of the close connection she had with her fiance.

Then, she turned around to look back at the room when there was a knock on the door. Jillian stood up from where she was sitting on the bed next to her sister to answer it, and Susannah looked at their captive sitting on the chair in front of it. They had tied the black-haired woman to it, using a couple of belts they tied together as rope, and though Chris and Jay had spent almost fifteen minutes asking her questions, she had remained silent.

When Jillian opened the door, she smiled when she saw Phil standing on the other side. "Hey," she said, also nodding to Mike and Anna standing behind him.

"Hey," Phil replied quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder for a minute before entering the room. "So, we have someone who took Adam last night, huh?"

Mike stepped into the room with Anna, his eyes narrowing slightly in confusion when he saw her as Jillian closed the door behind them. "A woman?" he asked, turning his gaze to Susannah. "You never mentioned her."

"She was there," Susannah answered firmly, her face remaining blank when the woman turned to look at her.

"And she's been spying on us pretty much since we got here," Allie added, gesturing to the video camera sitting on the desk under the window they had taken from the woman. "It's mentioned in a notebook we found where Adam was taken."

"What notebook?" Anna wondered.

Susannah reached into her light sweatshirt and pulled out the blue pocket notebook. "It's filled with plans for last night," she told her, flipping through the first couple pages. "It was probably dropped. I just didn't notice it until this morning."

"So, we have a notebook of plans, a video camera, and someone who was there last night," Phil muttered, turning to the black-haired woman. He sighed when she quickly winked at him. "Has she said anything?"

"No, nothing." Jay shook his head. "Not a single word."

"Well, we'll have to change that." Chris sighed as he stood in front of her again, watching as the woman raised her dark eyes to his. "Where is Adam?"

A smirk appeared at the corner of her lips as the woman glanced at the group standing around the room before looking back at Chris. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said quietly.

Surprised she had actually said something, Jay stepped a little closer to her. "I would answer his questions," he warned her. "After all, you're the one who's trapped. And we're not in merciful moods."

But the woman seemed unfazed by his threat. "If you hurt me, you'll lose your lead to finding Adam," she replied, a cruel glint in her eyes. "And if you don't find him in time, will you be able to live with yourself knowing there must have been _something_ you could have done to save him, Jay?"

Susannah felt her breath catch in her chest as memories of her nightmare came back to her, watching as anger appeared on Jay's face. It was a fear that had been on her own mind, and clearly, it was on his as well. "Where is he?" she pressed, hoping to keep her tone controlled. "Why did you take him?"

The woman's smirk broadened as she turned her dark gaze to Susannah. "Oh, sweetie," she muttered, shaking her head slightly. "I can't tell you that. That's what you need to find out, remember?"

"What did he do to any of you?" Susannah demanded, ignoring her words as she took a couple steps closer. She noticed the rest of her friends looking at her with concern, but she ignored them. "We don't even know you! Why do this?"

"You know, he's been asking some of the same questions himself," the woman told her. "Can't blame him. We come out of nowhere and take him away from his pretty little girlfriend. I'd be confused too."

Susannah's eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you doing to him?" She remembered the pain she could hear in Adam's voice when he had talked to her on the phone the night before.

"Well, we've been doing a couple things so far," the woman said, the glint returning to her eyes. "I have to say, he's handling it pretty well. But there's only so much pain a person can take before they're broken." She laughed a little when she saw Susannah was struggling to contain her anger by the way her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. "You know, Adam really does care about you. I could see it in the way he talked to you last night. He didn't want to worry you."

Taking a deep breath to try to keep her composure, Susannah shook her head slightly and bit her lip. She could see the woman was trying to get to her, but she wasn't going to let her. Able to see her words were working, the woman continued.

"How does it feel, Susannah?" she wondered in a voice just above a whisper. "How does it feel to know he's suffering right now? To know he's going through all this pain at this very moment... and there's nothing you can do about it? You can just imagine it, can't you? His screams of pain... his cries for help..."

"_Shut up_!" Susannah suddenly snapped, lunging for the woman. But before she could reach her, she was stopped by Chris' strong arms wrapping around her from behind. "No! Let go of me!"

"Susannah, that's not going to help," Chris muttered as he pulled her back from the woman. "You're letting her get to you."

"I don't care!" Susannah struggled in Chris' arms, trying to escape from his hold. "She knows where Adam is!"

"And they'll keep asking her," Chris said, leading her toward the door. "For now, you need to calm down. Come on, we'll take a walk."

Susannah finally gave up on trying to escape from her friend since his hold was too strong, glaring at the woman as angry tears burned in her eyes. Chris sighed as he led her out into the hallway, glancing back at the still smirking woman as she watched them before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Adam lay on the floor of the small, cold room on his side, his breathing heavy. His back felt like it was on fire from the lemon juice the bearded man had drenched his rough skin with, and the pain hadn't died down since it had been done. He closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore it. This wasn't some normal kidnapping. He wasn't being held for ransom since the man who seemed to be in charge hadn't mentioned it when he called Susannah. It was him they were after, not money or anything else. But he still had no idea what he could have done that would make these people take and torture him.

_"I'll find you. I promise."_

Sighing when he saw Susannah's smiling face in his mind, Adam slowly opened his eyes as he looked around at the dark room. She was fighting to figure out why he had been taken, so he would keep fighting to make it back to her too. He didn't know what else the gang had in store for him, but he did know he would make it through.

* * *

After a couple more hours of interrogating the woman they had caught, the group slowly started to disperse since they weren't getting anywhere. She rarely talked, and when she did say something, it didn't give them any clue to Adam's location or reasoning for taking him. Chris had brought Susannah back shortly after they had left when she lost her temper, insisting she stood toward the back of the group. It hadn't been a necessary precaution, however, since the woman didn't even glance at Susannah again.

"All right, so we'll keep her in my room, and I'll guard her," Chris said to Jay and Phil, stepping out into the hallway and shutting the door behind him. "She's probably not going to say anything more, though."

"Probably not," Jay agreed with a sigh. He had sent Allie and Susannah back to his room with plans to join them shortly, and Mike, Anna, and Jillian had gone out to get something to eat. "But just keep an eye on her."

"And if you need to leave, call one of us and we'll take over," Phil added.

Chris smiled slightly as he looked at his two friends. "Okay, sounds like a plan," he muttered.

Phil nodded before turning to look at Jay. "If anything else important happens like it did last night, just make sure to let us know, okay?" he asked. "If Jill hadn't called me when she had, I would have told the police about Adam."

Jay ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, of course," he answered. "It's just with last night..."

"I know," Phil muttered, placing his hand on Jay's shoulder. "It's hard knowing Adam's in danger and not being able to help him yet. But just remember we're all in this together."

"Thanks, Phil." Jay gave him a small smile. "I'll let everyone know if something else happens."

Phil returned it. "All right. I'm heading out. Keep us updated on the woman."

"And I'm going to get back to the girls," Jay said. "See you guys later."

"Bye." Chris watched as they both walked away from his room in separate directions, sighing as he opened the door again. He saw the woman was staring blankly at the floor, only looking up when he sat on the bed close to her. When he saw her dark eyes were staying on him, he narrowed his own slightly. "What?" he snapped.

The woman looked at him curiously. "You feel bad." It wasn't a question.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Well, of course with the situation..."

A small smile appeared on the woman's face. "Adam is strong," she said thoughtfully. "He's not going to break easily."

"Sounds like Adam," Chris replied with a slight smile of his own.

The woman nodded, a look he couldn't read crossing her face. "You know, we're a lot closer than you all think," she told him, her eyes gleaming almost maliciously.

Chris looked at her with surprise. But then, he sighed and looked away, running his hand through his hair. "Just... don't even," he muttered. "Don't start."

"I don't have to." The woman smirked up at him.

There was a tense moment of silence before Chris pushed himself to his feet. The woman watched him silently as he paced the room a minute, glaring at her. Her smirk only broadened when he then stormed past her into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

**Author's Note**: Find any clues? If so, leave them in your reviews! Thanks for reading! Review please!


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Find any clues as to who's behind it yet? Keep a close eye out and let me know who you think is doing this! And all warnings from the prologue still apply here. Hope you enjoy!

_Chapter 8_

"Come back soon, okay, Jay?" Allie asked, standing in the doorway as her boyfriend stepped out into the hall. "Don't be long."

"I won't," Jay assured her, a small smile appearing on his face before leaning down and giving her a quick kiss. "I just want to make sure everything's okay with Chris."

Allie returned the smile, running her fingers through his short hair before kissing him again. "Okay. See you soon," she muttered.

"See you soon."

Susannah looked up from where she sat on the bed, sighing quietly as she watched Jay tenderly brush some of Allie's hair behind her ear before he walked down the hallway. She looked away as her friend shut the door, sighing herself as she sat back down next to her. "Checking on the woman?" she wondered.

Allie nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I mean, Chris hasn't contacted us all day, and it's getting kinda late."

"True," Susannah agreed as she leaned back on her arms on the bed. "But that could just mean she hasn't said anything either. She's pretty stubborn."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Allie stared at the action movie playing on the television for a minute before turning to her friend. "Hey, Susannah?"

Susannah looked up at her curiously. "Yeah?"

Allie sighed as she looked back at her. "Have you noticed Chris has been acting... I don't know, a little different?" she asked.

"How so?" Susannah slowly sat back up, brushing some hair out of her face. As far as she knew, all of her friends were acting a little differently ever since Adam was taken. At least nothing was out of the ordinary.

"I don't know," Allie muttered, shaking her head slightly. "He seems to be getting really close to you, that's all. I just can't help but notice that."

Susannah sighed too. The other girl wasn't the only one to notice Chris' sudden closeness- she did too. "I've known him pretty much since I started dating Adam," she said quietly. "He's one of my best friends, really the first one I made here other than Jay. He's just being supportive, and I'm glad for it."

Allie looked at her for a long moment before she slowly nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," she agreed. "You know him better than me. It was just something I couldn't help but notice."

"I know what you mean, though. He hasn't gotten this close before," Susannah muttered. "But then again, Adam's never been in this kind of danger before..."

"It makes a difference." Allie reached over and wrapped her arm around Susannah's shoulders. "Now, what do you say we actually try to find something good on while we wait for Jay to come back, huh?"

Despite herself, Susannah laughed a little as she nodded, glancing at the explosions that were happening in the movie with disinterest. "Yeah, I'd say that's a good idea."

* * *

Jay sighed as he walked down the hallway toward Chris' room. It had been a long time since they heard anything from him, and he only hoped it wasn't a bad thing. But he slowly shook his head as he walked around the corner. Chris probably hadn't contacted them because the woman hadn't said anything. She had barely spoken a word since she got there.

But when he didn't get an answer when he knocked on his friend's door, Jay couldn't help but start to feel a little anxious. "Chris?" he asked, knocking again. "Chr-!"

Suddenly, the door of the room swung open, and two men ran out as they shoved past Jay. He winced when he hit the floor, seeing the men were wearing matching leather jackets and had the same dark hair. But then, Jay's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the woman they had caught was with them.

"Jay, go after them!"

Gasping quietly, Jay looked back into the room and saw Chris was sitting on the floor near the bed, hand at his head as he winced. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Chris told him, anxiously gesturing after the trio. "Go! I'll join you in a minute. Hurry!"

Realizing the men had to be stopped since the woman was their only lead to Adam, Jay quickly got to his feet and ran down the hallway after them. Chris was a bit slower to stand, closing his eyes for a minute at the pounding in his head as he walked out into the hallway. He started to go after Jay but stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Allie and Susannah had appeared at the end of the hall with matching confusion on their faces.

"Is everything okay?" Susannah wondered. "We heard some loud noises out here."

"Some men came to my hotel room. I didn't know who they were when I answered," Chris explained. "But they took the woman... I'm assuming they were part of the group who took Adam."

"Where's Jay?" Allie immediately asked with concern.

Chris rubbed his head and sighed. "He's going after them," he answered.

Susannah's eyes widened slightly with horror. "Let's go," she said, running down the hallway with Chris. Allie sighed, hurrying after her friends.

"Of course he would go after them," she muttered to herself as she followed Chris and Susannah down the stairs. "Asshole."

* * *

Mike shut the door of his rental car, locking it up before starting to walk across the parking lot with Anna and Jillian. "Well, thanks for joining me for a day out, ladies," he said with a slight smile as they made their way toward the hotel. Though the three of them had gone out for a little relaxation, they had also searched for any clue as to where Adam could have been taken. But they hadn't found anything.

"Thanks for inviting me," Jillian replied when Anna took Mike's hand. "I didn't want to be a third wheel or anything."

"Well, you weren't," Mike told her as they approached the building. "It was-!"

But then, the door of the hotel pushed forcefully open as he reached for it, and he pulled Anna and Jillian back as three dark-haired men came running out from the lobby. With them was the woman they had caught that morning.

"Wasn't that..." Anna began, but her sentence trailed off when Jay came running out of the hotel as well and chased after the men as they headed toward the street that overlooked the small, nearby canal.

"What the hell is going on?" Mike wondered to no one in particular, starting to take a couple steps after his friend. Anna and Jillian lingered by the door for a couple minutes, turning around when they heard it open again and Chris, Susannah, and Allie ran outside.

"Guys, who are those men?" Jillian asked, stopping Susannah and Allie as Chris continued running after Jay.

"Chris thought they were part of the gang that took Adam," Susannah answered, watching as Mike immediately started running after them at her words. "I haven't gotten a good look at them, so I really can't say."

"Come on, we have to go!" Allie added, grabbing her older sister's arm and pulling her along with her and Susannah as they hurried after the men.

Further ahead than the rest of the group, Jay kept up his pace as the gang members crossed the street at the light and ran down the sidewalk alongside the canal toward a black car parked at the end of the block. Jay was right with them, approaching the man in the back and grabbing his arm. He spun around to face him, and Jay blinked with surprise when he saw the thin scar running across his face.

Sensing his hesitation, the man took advantage and shoved him forcefully into the low gate at the edge of the sidewalk. Jay cried out with pain as his lower back throbbed from the contact, but his hand only tightened around the other man's arm when he tried to pull away.

"Where... is he?" Jay asked quietly, glaring at him angrily as he tried to ignore the pain. "Where's Adam?"

The gang member smirked, turning to look at the other three who had stopped to watch what was happening. "Go on, I'll catch up in a minute," he told them. When they continued to hurry toward the car, he turned back to Jay with an amused smirk. "You need to figure that out. But the longer you take, the less chance you have of saving him."

"Why would you do this?" Jay continued to press, hoping to get some sort of clue as to where to start looking for his best friend. "What has he done?"

"Other than giving me this scar, nothing to me," the dark-haired man muttered, running his hand quickly over his face. "But I would hurry if I were you. You don't want to run out of time."

Jay's eyes narrowed slightly, but before he could say anything more, the other man smirked before shoving him forcefully over the gate. He gasped, looking beneath him as he fell toward the dark water of the canal below.

* * *

Chris, Mike, and Susannah led the way across the street as they began to run down the sidewalk toward a black car parked on the end of the block the gang members were heading toward. Jay and one of the men seemed to be talking closer by, but then, Allie gasped loudly when her boyfriend was forcefully shoved over the gate at the edge of the sidewalk, falling into the water below.

"Jay!" she screamed, running up to the railing and looking down. She saw him surface as he coughed out water, looking for the shore. She looked around, seeing the narrow stone staircase that led down to the canal near her. "Hold on! I'm coming!"

"But the gang," Chris said anxiously while Mike and Susannah continued toward the man who had pushed Jay into the canal. "They're going to get away!"

Jillian sighed as three of the dark-haired people approached the car before looking down at Jay as he swam toward land, sighing as she ran her hand through her hair. "We're never going to catch them now," she murmured.

"We can try," Chris told her. "You guys get Jay." Then, he quickly ran over to Susannah and Mike as the latter grabbed the fourth man's arm to stop him from reaching the other members.

"If you're going to ask me where Adam is, you're wasting your time," Chris heard the man saying when he approached. "I'm not going to tell you a thing."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" Mike asked quietly while Susannah glared at him.

But the man only smirked. "Yes, we will," he agreed.

Mike narrowed his eyes slightly, but he glanced down when someone else spoke up. "We're going to find Adam," Susannah muttered, though her tone was confident. "We're going to figure out why you took him."

The man smiled at her. "I'm sure you will," he told her, glancing at Chris when he glared at him. "But as I told your friend, I would hurry if I were you. You only have so much time."

"You son of a bi-!" Mike began, but before he could finish, the man's fist suddenly collided forcefully with his jaw, causing him to stumble back. Susannah took a step toward the dark-haired man, but she was shoved aside as he roughly pushed past her left arm. Chris reached for him, but the man punched him as well before running toward the street where the black car was waiting for him, climbing in the back and barely shutting the door before it sped out of sight.

Allie led the way down the stairs toward the canal, Anna and Jillian following close behind her. She ran to the edge of the shore, bending over as Jay approached. She reached out and grabbed his arm, helping to pull him out of the water as he pushed himself out before dropping to his knees. "Jay, are you all right?" she asked as she knelt in front of him, running her hand over his cheek as she looked into his face with concern.

Jay nodded, but he shivered in the cool night air as he tried to catch his breath. "I-I'm f-fine," he mumbled, stuttering slightly as his body shook. "J-just c-cold..." He paused for a moment as Allie wrapped her arms around him to try to provide some warmth, pulling her close as he sighed. "Wh-where's the g-gang?"

"They got away," Jillian muttered, her gaze as downcast as her tone. "We couldn't catch up with them fast enough."

"D-damn it..." Jay placed his chin on top of Allie's head. "That w-woman... Sh-she was our only l-lead..."

"No she wasn't."

Jay and Allie looked up while Anna and Jillian turned around, watching as Chris, Mike, and Susannah reached the bottom of the narrow staircase. "What do you mean?" Anna wondered, looking at the blond man who had spoken. "She knows where Adam is, and now we don't have her. What do you mean she's not our only lead?"

Chris gave her a slight smile. "Those men only took her," he explained, glancing at the rest of the group as well. "We still have the video camera up in my room."

Susannah closed her eyes and sighed quietly with what almost felt like relief. At least they still had something. But when she ran her left hand over her face, she gasped as she quickly opened her eyes again.

"What?" Chris wondered, concern crossing his face when he saw Susannah was looking at her hand with horror.

"My ring," Susannah muttered, staring at her now empty left hand. "It's gone."

* * *

Jay gratefully took the towel Chris held out for him, wrapping it tightly around him before sitting on the bed between his girlfriend and Susannah while Chris crouched on the floor in front of everyone with the video camera they had taken from the woman.

"All right, let's see what's on here," Chris muttered, flipping the screen open and trying to hold it so everyone else could see. Jillian, Mike, Anna, and Phil, who they had found in the lobby when they had gotten back to the hotel, all scooted forward a little to try to see a bit better.

Chris hit the play button, and there was a black screen for a long moment before a video appeared. It was of Mike and Anna swimming in the hotel's pool together, and from the video, it appeared to have been taken through a window.

"Did you see her there?" Anna asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"No, I didn't," Mike answered quietly, concern in his tone. "But remember when I said I thought I saw something? It was probably her..."

Then, the clip quickly cut to another one, this time of Allie and Jay riding in the gondola through the city, sharing a quick kiss.

"I _knew_ I saw her," Allie muttered, looking at the small screen intently. "Remember, Jay?"

"Yeah, I do," Jay replied quietly, his eyes on the video carefully as he realized that woman hadn't been as harmless as he had thought. "So that's what she was doing..."

The clip then changed again, and this time it was of Jillian and Phil smiling and laughing as they had coffee together the night before Adam was taken. Phil's eyes narrowed while Jillian scooted a little closer to him.

"She was spying on us," he said in nearly a whisper.

It changed again, showing a clip of Chris arriving at the hotel for the first time, grabbing his bags from the back of his car and walking across the parking lot to the tall building. His gaze hardened, and Susannah took a deep breath when that video was replaced with one of herself and Adam standing on the bridge where he had proposed to her. She bit her lip as she watched him pull her into a kiss, knowing the gang was going to show up at any moment.

But before they could, the clip abruptly ended, and there was once again a black screen. Susannah slowly let out the breath she was holding, disappointed. She had been hoping along with the rest of her friends the footage would have provided some sort of clue to Adam's location. But there had been nothing.

"Well, it looks like there isn't anything else on here," Chris muttered, about to turn the camera off.

Then, Susannah gasped. "Wait!" she exclaimed. "There's more!"

The rest of the group turned back to the camera, watching with shock as Adam was shoved through a door into a large, dimly lit room. He fell to the floor as the five men who had taken him followed him inside, all putting in what looked like ear plugs. Adam pushed himself to his feet and began to fight back when a couple of them approached him, but suddenly, he screamed in pain and put his hands to his ears as he dropped to his knees.

Jay's eyes narrowed in concern but also anger while Susannah covered her mouth as Adam continued to scream, collapsing to the floor as he writhed in pain. "What are they doing?" he asked in horror when he noticed blood starting to appear on his best friend's fingers.

"Sound wave," Phil muttered, looking at Adam carefully as he pointed at the screen. "That's why the rest of the men put ear plugs in. It's gotta be extremely high or low to cause that sort of reaction... It's a form of torture."

Susannah felt tears form in her eyes as she continued to stare at her fiancé's pained expression, another scream escaping from him. Then, the clip abruptly cut to another one. This time, Adam was leaning against a stone wall behind him without his shirt and his eyes closed, his hands tied in front him. Susannah's eyes narrowed slightly. She recognized that wall...

The sound of footsteps came from the camera, and Adam slowly opened his eyes as the same black-haired woman they had taken the camera from knelt down next to him. _"We're going to send a little message to your friends, Adam,"_ she said, smiling at the camera. _"Say hi to them."_

But Adam didn't say anything. He didn't even look at the camera in front of him. Susannah felt her fist clench, her eyes not leaving Adam's face. She saw a bruise over his right eye and a couple scratches spread around on his face, the sight breaking her heart.

Anger crossed the woman's face as she grabbed onto Adam's hair and pulled, forcing his head up in the direction of the camera. He winced in pain, but it was an action she ignored. _"This is your last chance,"_ she hissed. _"Go ahead. Tell them to come and save you."_

_"No,"_ Adam muttered, his voice quiet and wavering. But then, he looked up at the camera, his eyes filled with determination._ "Don't worry about me, guys. I can save myself... You'll only get hurt if you try to rescue me."_

Though his tone had grown a little stronger, Adam's words pierced Susannah's heart like a knife. She felt a single tear fall from her eye, but she quickly wiped it away so her friends hopefully wouldn't see it. Chris looked up at her with concern from the floor, and Allie glanced at her before putting her hand on her friend's arm.

The woman laughed a little. _"So brave of you to try to do this on your own, Adam,"_ she said. _"But also very stupid."_ She then shoved him roughly to the floor on his stomach before backing away from him as a man with longer hair and a braided beard approached them, slowly raising his foot. Susannah gasped with horror when she saw the small spikes on the bottom of his shoe, her breath catching in her chest. There was a tense moment where nothing happened as Adam slowly started to push himself to his knees, and then the man suddenly brought his foot down forcefully on his exposed back.

Adam's scream of pain echoed from the camera as the man continued his assault, causing Allie to turn away and bury her face in Jay's shoulder as he stared at the small screen with terror. Anna covered her mouth while Mike put an arm around her and pulled her close, his expression darkening sadly. Jillian shook her head in disbelief as she bit her bottom lip, and Phil found he couldn't tear his eyes away, no matter how much he wanted to, as he placed his hand sturdily on his friend's knee to try to comfort her while Chris looked at the floor. Susannah also couldn't move her eyes from the screen even when she felt Jillian wrap her arms around her tightly, tears starting to fall more freely down her cheeks.

Finally, the man stopped and took a couple steps back from Adam, who was left gasping on the ground. The woman once again walked forward and grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head up to face the camera.

_"Are you sure there isn't anything you want to say to your friends?" _she asked, a smile on her face.

After a couple more minutes of trying to catch his breath, Adam slowly opened his eyes and looked directly into the camera. _"Susannah... I love you," _he muttered in a voice hardly above a whisper before the man who had attacked him brought his foot down on his back one last time, and he screamed again just as the camera cut off.

The sound echoing in her mind, Susannah felt a quiet sob escape from her. Not being able to stand it anymore, she broke out of Jillian's hold as she got to her feet and quickly left the room without another word. Jillian sighed as a thin line of tears formed in her eyes while Jay looked after her with concern, about to get to his feet but was stopped by Allie's gentle hand on his knee.

"I'll do it," she muttered with a small, sad smile before she stood up and hurried out of the room after Susannah.

Jay sighed as he turned his attention back to the screen, seeing the video had stopped. But the image of his best friend, his brother, suffering was burned into his mind, and even with the heavy silence that hung in the room as Chris shut off the video camera, his scream was still echoing in his ears. "We need to find him," he muttered, his tone shaking slightly. "As soon as possible."

"Yeah, but how?" Mike wondered. "We don't have that woman to get information out of anymore..."

"As much as I don't want to do it, we need to watch the footage of Adam again," Jay replied heavily. "Look for any clues in his surroundings. We may be able to find something that way."

* * *

Allie hurried down the hallway and down the stairs, hoping to find some sign of her friend. She had seen the look of pain in Susannah's eyes when she had left the room, but she wasn't surprised with the footage they had seen of Adam. The torture of the man she considered to be her brother was very hard on her as well. She sighed when she didn't see her anywhere in the lobby, about to turn around and retrace her steps, but she paused when she thought she caught a glimpse of someone familiar outside. She quickly crossed the lobby and pushed open the door, stepping out into the mild night.

Susannah was standing on the sidewalk in front of the building, facing the dark parking lot. Allie sighed as she walked over to her friend, coming to a stop next to her before looking into her face, her eyes narrowing slightly when she saw the silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Hey, Susannah..." she began quietly.

After a long moment, Susannah slowly looked at Allie, grief in her eyes. "That woman let us take the camera," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Allie asked curiously.

Susannah sighed. "The footage of Adam," she answered, looking back out at the parking lot. "These people wanted us to see it..."

Allie looked out at the cars too. What she said made complete sense to her. She could see the pain Susannah was feeling went much deeper than most of the group, but she didn't know what she could say to lessen that impact. So, she simply reached over and wrapped her arms around the other girl, feeling her lean into her a little bit.

"You know," Susannah said quietly. "I've been with Adam through a very difficult, painful time. But never... _never_ have I heard him scream like that. It... it was awful. I can still hear it. They're killing him, Allie..."

"We'll find him," Allie murmured, pulling her friend closer as Susannah's sentence trailed off when a sob escaped from her. Adam's scream was still echoing in her mind as well, and she could tell by just looking at his face how much pain he was in. The other girl was right, but she had to try to encourage her. "I promise. We're going to find him."

But as she continued to hold her upset friend, Allie could only hope there was truth to her words.

* * *

_Susannah stood in front of the stove, quickly reading over the directions on the back of the box of noodles she would be making for lunch before turning it on. She put her earphones in and set her iPod on shuffle, sticking the small, light blue device in her pocket as she mixed the ingredients together. Stirring for three to four minutes wouldn't be so hard, especially when she monitored cooking time to her music. It made the time pass so much faster._

_When it had only been about a minute, Susannah gasped quietly when one of her earphones was pulled away, and she quickly looked over her shoulder to see her boyfriend was standing behind her. "Adam!"_

_"What are you listening to?" Adam asked innocently, though there was a smirk on his face as he put the earphone in his own ear. "Aerosmith. Not too bad."_

_Susannah rolled her eyes as she set the spoon down, turning around to face him. "Come on, give it back," she muttered, reaching for her other earphone._

_But Adam's smirk broadened as he pulled it out of his ear, also pulling the second out of Susannah's, holding it up just out of her reach. It was easy enough to do since he was about a foot taller than his girlfriend. "My bad."_

_"That is so not fair, Addy." Susannah stood up on her toes to try to get it, but every time she got close, he pulled it just a little bit further away._

_"What's not, my little one?" Adam asked sweetly, laughing a little when he saw the glare he received in return. "What? I say that in the most loving of ways. I apologize if my efforts come up a little short."_

_Susannah rolled her eyes, which only made Adam laugh more. "Really?" she wondered. "Short jokes?"_

_Adam smiled as he took her iPod, pausing the song before slipping it in the back pocket of his faded jeans and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Sorry. It just takes so little to pick on you."_

_Sighing, Susannah smacked his chest. But then, she smirked. "Yeah?" She placed her hands on his shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and laughing a little at the surprise on Adam's face when he quickly caught her. "Thanks for not dropping me."_

_"Well, wanna give me a little head's up next time you decide to randomly jump on me?" Adam wondered._

_Susannah shrugged. "But what fun would that be?" she countered. Adam was a wrestler. If he could pick up guys taller than her who had more muscle than she did during a match, he could do the same with her just fine._

_A smirk spread across Adam's face. "Yeah, you have a point," he agreed, closing the small gap between them as he caught her lips in a quick kiss. Susannah smiled at him when he pulled away, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck since he was still holding her. Then, she brought him into another kiss, and Adam's hand snuck up her shirt a little as he ran his thumb lightly over the soft skin of her lower back. Susannah smirked against his lips, allowing him to slowly deepen the kiss as he pulled her closer._

_But then, she gasped and quickly broke it when she heard a loud sound from the stove behind her, and Adam raised an eyebrow when he saw the water in the pot of noodles had spilled over the top. "Oops." He shifted Susannah to one arm for a short minute as he leaned forward and turned the stove off. "Sorry about that."_

_"Ah, it doesn't matter," Susannah replied as she turned back to him. "I can either try again, if you give me back my iPod, or we'll order out or something."_

_"Hmm... how about we order out?" Adam suggested. "It's been a long week." Then, he winked. "Unless you want to go for your iPod, that is."_

_"No, you're right," Susannah said, laughing a little. "It'll be nice to relax a little bit for a change."_

_Adam smirked at her. "Well, I didn't say anything about that," he murmured, kissing her again softly._

_Susannah sighed, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face. "All right then. Where were we?"_

* * *

Adam slowly opened his eyes when he heard loud voices from the other side of the door of the small, dimly-lit room, realizing the gang members who had gone to the hotel must have come back. His mind immediately went to his friends, to his fiancee, hoping they were all right. He also knew they must have had the video camera the woman had been carrying around with her and would soon be watching the message that was left for them. Sighing, Adam closed his eyes again when the pain still in his back flared up. He remembered what he said on the video, assuring his friends he would be fine and could rescue himself. It was too dangerous for them to come for him. He could only hope they would listen.

But then, he gasped as his eyes snapped open when the door loudly opened, and Adam wearily raised his head from where he was lying on the floor. He saw two of the clean shaven men had entered the room, one with a scar across his face that he had left there with the hook, smirks on their faces as they looked down at him.

"Are... are my friends okay?" Adam asked quietly, his voice hoarse.

The two men glanced at each other, their smirks only broadening as a dark gleam appeared in their eyes. "What do you think?" the man with the scar countered, pulling something out of his sweatshirt pocket and tossing it to the floor in front of Adam.

Adam heard the soft clink as something metal landed in front of him, and his eyes widened in horror when he saw it. He slowly reached forward and picked up the small, silver object, recognizing the flower-patterned diamond ring immediately. "Susannah..." he whispered, running his finger over it lightly. Then, he quickly looked up at the two men, anger flaring in his eyes. "How did you get this? What did you do to her?"

But the men only laughed and high-fived each other before they left the room, shutting and locking the door behind them. Adam cursed heatedly under his breath as he turned his attention back to the ring he held in his palm, his anger slowly fading away to dread. Was Susannah all right? Was she hurt? How had they gotten her ring? What worried him the most was he had no way of finding out.

He cried out with frustration as he tightened his hand around the engagement ring and hung his head. Adam felt a thin line of tears starting to form in his eyes, his breathing heavy. He wanted to believe the girl he loved was all right, but deep down, he feared the worst. The strength he thought he had to face whatever the gang had planned for him felt as though it was quickly slipping away, and at that moment, Adam knew he had lied in the video his friends would be watching if they hadn't yet.

For the first time, Adam knew he wasn't going to be able to escape on his own.

**Author's Note**: So, things aren't good for poor Adam. Any ideas? Leave them in your reviews! Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Glad to see you guys have theories. But keep an eye out for more clues! You never know what may happen.

_Chapter 9_

By the time Allie and Susannah got back up to the hotel room once the latter was calmed down, they saw the rest of the group, except for Chris, standing in the hallway outside his door. As they got closer, they noticed Jay looked troubled.

"Look, I know I'm the one who said we have to watch the footage again, but I just can't do it," he was saying as the two girls approached. "At least not tonight. I can't do it tonight."

"Well, then I guess the best thing right now would be to get some rest," Mike suggested, wrapping his arm around Anna as he looked at the other man with sympathy. "We're not going to do Adam any good if we're all exhausted. It'll only take longer to find him." Anna nodded in agreement.

But he saw an unreadable look cross Phil's face, and Mike narrowed his eyes slightly. "What?"

"Nothing," Phil replied quietly, shaking his head as Jillian looked at him with confusion.

"If you have something you want to share, Phil, then share it," Mike continued, taking a couple steps closer to him. "Don't leave us out of it."

"Mike," Anna muttered with warning, grabbing Mike's arm before he could get too close.

"No, Anna," Mike told her, keeping his eyes on Phil. "I want to hear what he has to say."

Phil sighed, running his hand through his black hair. "It's just..." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he looked away from him. "You guys saw that video. For all we know, Adam could be dead by now."

A shocked silence hung over the group. Susannah was the first to recover. "Damn it, Phil, don't you even..." she began threateningly.

"Please, Phil, don't say that," Jillian muttered, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes as she put one hand to her head. "Please, don't..."

Phil looked down at her, sympathy appearing on his face before he turned to look at Susannah and the others. "Look I didn't want to say it," he told them. "But I know it has to be a thought on everyone's mind, especially after what we just watched. Who knows what those people are doing to him?"

"Oh, you mean like the sound wave?" Susannah asked, her eyes slightly narrowed. "You seemed to know what that was pretty quickly, Phil."

"So?" Phil demanded in defense. "I'm sure the rest of you could have figured that out."

"I'm sure we could have," Jay agreed, his eyes narrowing slightly as well. "But be careful what you say, Phil." He placed his hand on Susannah's shoulder while wrapping his arm around Allie, who was looking at the Straightedge Superstar in shock.

Phil looked around at the almost accusing looks the rest of the group was giving him before shaking his head slightly. "I want to find Adam as much as the rest of you. Believe me, I do," he muttered. "But I'm not going to apologize for being the one who voiced the reality we all fear is possible. I'm not going to apologize for being honest. This is ridiculous. I'll see you later, Jill." Then, without another word, he started walking down the hallway away from them.

Silence hung over the group once again. Jay sighed, glancing at Jillian and seeing she was looking at the ground with tears still in her eyes. He moved his gaze to Mike and Anna, the latter looking shocked while her boyfriend still appeared angry, before finally resting on the girl he considered his sister and his girlfriend. Susannah seemed to be both shocked and angry while Allie looked like she didn't know what to think of the confrontation that had just taken place.

"Okay, I know tempers are running high because of the pressure of the situation," Jay finally addressed them. "But we need to stay together on this. If anything, for Adam so he can make it out of this alive. Maybe if we all get some sleep like Mike originally suggested, this whole thing will blow over."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Anna agreed quietly, pulling on Mike's arm. "Come on, let's go." She tried to get him to come with her for another moment before he finally budged, sighing as he followed his girlfriend down the hallway.

Allie then turned to her older sister, who still hadn't moved her gaze from the floor. "Jillian, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Gasping quietly at the sound of the question, Jillian quickly looked up to face her. "Yeah, fine," she answered, forcing a smile as she blinked her tears away. "Just... thinking. But I need sleep too. Good night, guys."

"Good night." Jay watched as Jillian quickly walked down the hallway back toward her room as well before turning to the two girls left with him. "What do you guys say? Ready to head to bed too?"

"Yeah, I guess," Susannah muttered. "Let me just grab my bags since I'll be staying with you guys from now on." She was grateful to the man she considered her brother for letting her stay with them for however long it took them to find Adam since she didn't think she could stay by herself.

Jay nodded, watching as she hurried around the corner to get to her room. Then, he sighed, pulling his girlfriend closer. "Let's head back, huh, Allie?" he wondered. "It's been a long night."

Allie nodded, putting her arms around Jay tightly as they started walking back toward their room. "Why would Phil..." she began, sighing and shaking her head when she wasn't able to finish.

"Don't listen to Phil, Allie," Jay said quietly, stopping when they got to their room and looking down at her. "Yeah, it's a worry we all have, but we still have time to find Adam. Okay?"

Instead of answering, Allie leaned forward and rested her head on Jay's chest, letting out a relieved breath when he wrapped his arms around her and held her securely. "I know, Jay," she finally replied in a voice just above a whisper. "I know."

Jay smiled slightly before resting his chin on top of her head, running his hand up and down her back. Then, he watched the door across from them open as Susannah left her room with her and Adam's bags, shutting it again behind her before joining the couple. "All set?"

"Yeah," Susannah muttered with a slight smile. "I've got everything."

"Okay then." Jay kept one arm around Allie while he took out their room key, but then they all looked up when they heard footsteps coming around the corner, seeing Chris was looking at them with concern.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "I thought I heard some commotion outside my room."

Jay sighed. "It should be okay," he answered. "Phil just said something that struck a nerve, and everyone went off about it. But with tempers running high the way they are..."

"Yeah, I understand that," Chris replied. "What did Phil say?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Susannah spoke up. "He said Adam could be dead," she told him quietly.

Sorrow appeared in Chris' eyes as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I mean, I know it's a fear, but... Just don't listen to Phil."

"I know." Susannah forced her tears back as she put a slight smile on her face. "I'm not giving up on him yet. It's just that he said it..."

Chris nodded in understanding. "I wish he wouldn't have," he replied before pausing for a minute. "You all right?"

"Fine," Susannah said. "If anything, just more determined to find Adam."

"We're going to try to get some sleep," Jay added. "Hopefully, if we all do that, this incident will just blow over. We can't be fighting each other."

"That's a good idea," Chris agreed, his eyes moving back to Susannah. "I'm going to try to do the same. Good night."

"Good night."

* * *

_The man with long hair and braided beard brought his spiked shoe forcefully down on Adam's exposed back, her fiancé's pained scream echoing around the small, dark room..._

Susannah screamed as her eyes snapped open, her panicked gaze moving around the faintly lit room. She heard the low voices coming from the television as she quickly sat up on the couch, the blanket falling to her lap. She put her head in her hands as tears burned in her eyes, bringing her legs up to her chest as she tried to hold in her sobs. It wasn't a real surprise to her that glimpses of the video they had watched of Adam that night made their way into her dreams, and it was difficult to not know what else the man she loved was going through.

Then, she gasped when a pair of hands landed on her shoulders, and she unconsciously flinched. "Susannah, it's okay," a quiet voice said. "It was just a dream."

Recognizing the voice immediately, Susannah leaned into him. "Jay, I... I saw..." she muttered, unable to finish because of the tears falling freely from her eyes.

Jay tightened his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay," he repeated gently. "Whatever it was is only a dream."

But Susannah shook her head. "No," she replied, wiping at her eyes. "It... it was like watching that video all over again. The man with long hair stepped on his back... I heard Adam scream..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what they're doing to him, but... they're going to end up killing him, Jay. That's what my other nightmare was about..."

"That's not going to happen, Susannah," Jay told her confidently as he sat back in a more comfortable position on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "We're going to find Adam before that happens. I promise."

Susannah rested her head on Jay's shoulder, slightly comforted by just being so close to him. "You're right," she muttered after a long moment. "You're right, Jay. We'll figure this out."

Jay smiled slightly, ruffling her hair. "That's the sister I know and love."

A small smile appeared on Susannah's face as well, but before she could reply, she looked to her left when Allie sat on the couch on her other side. "You okay?" she asked with concern, placing her hand on her friend's arm.

"I will be," Susannah answered quietly. "Just a nightmare. I won't be getting any more sleep tonight, though."

"We probably won't either," Jay agreed, glancing at the window and seeing the faint, early morning sunlight filtering in through the blinds. "Not that there's much of the night left anyway. But I've just been thinking about that video, and... and what Phil said."

Susannah sighed, the Straightedge Superstar's words still on her mind as well. "He's not dead, Jay," she murmured, her fingers unconsciously moving to the silver, intertwined hearts necklace she wore. "That much I know."

Allie sighed, looking from Susannah to Jay and back. "Did you find anything else in that notebook, Susannah?" she wondered, knowing that she had looked at it a little before falling asleep. She remembered her earlier conversation with her outside the hotel, her heart heavy from when she had said the gang was killing the man who she considered her brother. At least if they weren't going to get any more sleep, they could try to find any more clues to Adam's location.

"Not too much," Susannah replied, sitting up and pulling the pocket-sized notebook out of her sweatshirt pocket. "Just the little bit I've gone through has been their plans to take Adam. A warehouse of some sort is mentioned, but I don't know if that's where they brought him. Even if it is, there's not any more detail on it, and face it, there are a lot of warehouses here."

"A warehouse, huh?" Jay sighed. "We'll have to watch that video again, no matter how much I wish we didn't. Knowing it could be a warehouse, maybe we can get a better clue as to what we're looking for in those clips. Hopefully, it'll get us closer to Adam."

* * *

_Adam looked up from the couch where he was quietly playing his guitar, eyes landing on the brown-haired girl sitting curled up on the chair near the window with a notebook resting against her knees. A small smile appeared on his face as he watched her focus on whatever she was writing, lightly biting her bottom lip as her eyes narrowed slightly. He had been with Susannah for the past three years, and it hadn't taken him long to fall in love with the little quirks she had, from wearing Santa hats around the house in November to avoiding socks like the plague, since they only suited her often spontaneous nature. She was his best friend, someone he felt knew him almost as well as he knew himself. He was fortunate to have her, and he hoped they would be together for as long as they lived._

_But then, he glanced at his elevated left foot on the pillows next to him, sighing quietly. He knew he loved Susannah, needed her even. She gave his life meaning, which was particularly important now when he was disheartened with a potential career-ending injury. It was one of the hardest times of his life, and he knew it couldn't have been easy on Susannah to deal with him either when the strong feelings of doubt and frustration sometimes overcame him. But yet, the love and support she continued to show him, even when he sometimes felt like he didn't deserve it, was what kept him going._

_Feeling his eyes on her, Susannah looked up at him from the ink-filled page and smiled, and Adam could see by just that one look she felt the same way about him. "That's really pretty," she commented, listening to the quiet tune coming from his guitar. "_Patience_, Guns N' Roses?"_

_"Yeah." Adam's smile broadened slightly as he played the last chord of the song before setting his guitar aside. "That's the one."_

_Susannah put her pen in her notebook to mark her spot before she closed it and put that aside as well. "I didn't know you could play that," she said. "I love that song."_

_Adam laughed a little. "I know you do," he replied. "But when you have a lot of time on your hands..." His sentence slowly trailed off as his gaze moved to his injured foot again._

_Sighing, Susannah got up from the chair and sat back down in Adam's lap, trying to stay as far away from his sore left leg as possible. Adam wrapped his arms around her, surprised by the sudden action but grateful for it at the same time. "I know how hard this is for you, Addy," she muttered, brushing some of his blond hair back from his face. "But believe me when I say I'm convinced we haven't seen the last of Edge yet."_

_"But..." Adam began, cut off when his girlfriend leaned closer and met his lips in a soft kiss. Despite himself, he smirked slightly as he looked back at her. "Why must you do that?"_

_Susannah smiled. "Because I'm right," she told him, massaging the back of his neck a little. "Too many people are pulling for you and have faith in you that you can come back from this. _I_ have faith in you." She then placed her hand on his cheek. "You just need a little faith and patience as well. You'll get back there soon enough."_

_Adam chuckled. "Okay, so you're right," he said, making his girlfriend roll her eyes at his lack of enthusiasm. But then, he truly returned the smile as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Thanks, Susannah."_

_"Of course." Susannah wrapped her arms around him securely. "Just don't give up, no matter how trying a time this is."_

_"Don't worry, I won't." Then, he pulled Susannah closer to him, meeting her lips in another kiss. "But in the meantime, I've got you with me."_

_Susannah nodded, placing her hand on his chest as he ran his hand lightly up and down her back. "You always do."_

* * *

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Adam slowly opened his eyes, seeing the dark-haired woman who used to have the video camera had entered the small, dark room with a bag on her shoulder. He knew who she was talking about, of course, but he wasn't going to satisfy her with a response as he closed his eyes again and turned his head away from her. Though she hadn't actually taken part in it, she was still one of the people behind the torture.

The woman sighed, shutting the door before crossing the room to where their captive was sitting against the wall. "I can tell," she muttered, kneeling next to him. "You have a tranquil air about you." When she still didn't get a response from him, she opened her bag and pulled out her digital camera. She turned it on, looking at the pictures she had taken of Adam and Susannah when they had first arrived in Venice. "You look so happy when you're with her."

"Didn't stop you from tearing me away from her," Adam muttered quietly without opening his eyes, his voice rough due to his dry throat.

"I'm sorry..." the woman began, but her sentence trailed off when Adam turned to her with weary and defeated green eyes.

"Don't even say that to me," he told her, shaking his head slightly. "I don't want to hear it. If you meant it, you wouldn't be here to torture me more by talking about her."

The woman was silent for a long moment, not knowing what to say. She slowly put her camera back in the bag before turning back to Adam. "How did you meet her?" she suddenly wondered. "I can see how close you two are."

"Why does it matter to you how we met?" Adam snapped, his voice rising a little. "Because clearly, it doesn't now. What matters is you took me from the love of my life, and I probably won't see her again because of the hell your boyfriend is putting me through." He paused and took a deep breath, looking down at what he still held tightly in his bound hands before continuing in a calmer voice that started to crack. "This... this is all I have left of her now. This and my memories. So I'd prefer to keep those to myself, if you don't mind."

Sighing, the woman slowly moved her dark gaze to his hands, her eyes narrowing slightly when she saw the silver engagement ring he had given to Susannah was resting in his palm. Seeing she was looking at it too, Adam slowly closed his hand before putting the ring in the pocket of his jeans. She moved her eyes back to his, seeing he was looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. But before either one could say anything, Adam turned his head away when he started coughing.

"Are you thirsty?" the woman asked.

Adam looked back at her with confusion when his coughing fit ceased. His throat felt rough and irritated since he hadn't drank anything since he had gotten there, but he definitely didn't trust the woman. "I'll be fine," he answered, though he had to clear his throat as his voice trailed off due to how sore it was.

The woman rolled her eyes as she opened her bag again. "You know, there's going to be a time when you realize you can't be the hero and do this by yourself," she muttered as she looked around in it.

But to her surprise, Adam quietly laughed at her statement. "I've already realized that," he told her.

Pausing, the woman looked up at him. "Then why..."

"Because I've accepted it," Adam replied quietly, a shadow of a smile appearing on his face. "I know I can't do this alone. But I also know I don't want my friends anywhere near here with your boyfriend on the loose. There's really nothing I can do except get through whatever it is you freaks have planned for me, which I fully intend to do."

The woman looked at him sadly for a moment before reaching into her bag again. "Well, here, this should help for now," she muttered, pulling out a water bottle. She wasn't too surprised to see the suspicion immediately cross his face. "I swear, I haven't done anything to it. Look, the seal's not even broken. I got it from the hotel you're staying at."

Adam looked at the bottle in her hand carefully before raising his eyes to meet hers. "Why are you doing this?" he wondered as his voice cracked again, clear mistrust still in his tone.

"Because you need something to drink if you want to make it through this," the woman said matter-of-factly as she unscrewed the top. "Here. Drink some. It'll help." She held it closer to him.

Not saying a word, Adam looked into her eyes for a couple more minutes before sighing and closing his eyes as he took a few long sips. The cool liquid did wonders on his raw throat, and Adam found himself drinking a lot more much quicker than he originally intended.

"Not too fast," the woman cautioned quietly.

Adam looked over at her, raising his tied hands and taking the bottle from her. He took one more sip before lowering it, taking a deep breath as he set it aside. "Thank you," he muttered.

The woman gave him a small smile, but before she could say anything, she quickly looked over her shoulder when the door to the room opened. Adam glanced up, watching as the long-haired man in charge of the group entered with the two men now with scars on their faces because of his attack with the fishhook. Then, he began to slowly back along the wall as the woman got to her feet and moved away from him when the two men walked toward him. But he didn't get too far as they grabbed his arms, pulling him up to his feet and holding him back against the wall. Adam tried to fight out of their hold, glaring up at the long-haired man as he came to a stop in front of him.

"See this?" he asked, holding up a couple darts he held in his hand. Adam didn't answer, but a small smirk still spread across his face. "Acid-tipped darts. I can only imagine how painful these would be cutting into your skin."

Adam's eyes widened with horror, his efforts to escape intensifying. The bearded man laughed quietly as he watched him, raising a dart and slowly moving it toward him. The woman turned away as she walked to the open doorway of the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Adam, her eyes narrowing slightly as she quickly stepped out into the hallway, his hoarse scream of pain echoing from the room behind her.

* * *

Susannah sat in the lobby of the hotel curled up in a chair by the window, sighing as she looked through the small pocket notebook they had found on the bridge the day before. She mindlessly flipped through the first few pages where the plans to take Adam were outlined since she couldn't stand to look at them again, sighing quietly when she still didn't find any clues to her fiancé's location like she had hoped.

Then, she felt someone standing near her and looked up, seeing Chris looking back at her. "Hey," she said, moving her gaze back to the notebook.

"Hey," Chris replied as he slowly sat in the chair next to her. "Any luck?"

Susannah shook her head slightly. "No," she told him. "There's really nothing in here about where they took him. A warehouse is mentioned, but there are a lot of them, so..."

"At least it narrows it down slightly, right?" Chris asked when her sentence trailed off, trying to be a little optimistic for her.

"I guess," Susannah answered quietly, not sounding as positive. But then, her eyes narrowed when he turned the page. "What the..."

Chris looked at her with confusion. "What?" he wondered.

Susannah stared at the open pages for a couple more minutes before leaning toward Chris. "I haven't seen this before. Look at this," she muttered, turning the notebook toward him a little.

"Numbers," Chris added just as quietly. Large values in the thousands were scrawled across both pages, being added or subtracted from each other.

"I wonder what it means," Susannah said, biting her lip as she looked at the pages as well.

Chris looked over the numbers carefully, noticing they steadily increased until the very end, where there was a sudden steep drop. "I'm not sure what they mean," he finally replied, "but I think I know what they are."

"What?" Susannah asked, looking up at her friend.

"The only thing that would make sense by the pattern is monetary value," Chris answered, meeting her gaze.

Susannah looked at him with confusion. "Money?" she repeated.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, look," he told her. "Whoever these people are were doing well in the beginning, but then here, something must have happened to make them lose a lot."

"So, okay, that makes sense," Susannah muttered. "But why take Adam? He's not involved with any stocks or money things like this..."

"I don't think they're stocks. It doesn't follow the normal pattern," Chris said thoughtfully. "I'm not involved in them myself, but I have some friends who are. It's not the same."

Susannah bit her lip again thoughtfully. "So... you're saying it could have been obtained illegally or something?" she wondered quietly. "That still doesn't make any sense. Adam definitely isn't involved in anything like that."

Chris shrugged. "It's a possibility," he replied. "I'm just wondering what happened here at the end that would cause such a big drop. And why they think Adam is involved with it."

"Well, I guess that's what we have to figure out." Susannah sighed, running her hand through her hair. "That leaves us back at square one."

"Not quite." Chris met her gaze again. "We now know the reason Adam was taken mostly likely has something to do with this sudden decrease."

Susannah slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she agreed. "But what I don't get is why Adam's blamed for it."

Chris gave her a sad smile as he shut the notebook before handing it back to her. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure," he told her. "At least we have a little something to go by."

She put the notebook back in her pocket, but before Susannah could say anything more on the matter, she watched as the door to the hotel opened and Jay and Allie entered the lobby. They had gone out for a quick lunch at a fast food restaurant, and she would have gone with them, but she hadn't felt up to it. Seeing her, Jay smiled and led the way over to where she and Chris were sitting.

"Hey, you're still here," he said with a smile as he and Allie stopped in front of them. Then, he held the white paper bag in his hand out to her, laughing a little when Susannah looked at it with confusion. "It's food. You eat it."

Susannah rolled her eyes. "I think I know what food is, Jay," she replied with a slight smile.

Jay shrugged. "Just thought I'd give you a reminder," he told her jokingly. But then, he sighed, and his tone grew serious. "You haven't eaten much since Adam was taken. You need to have something."

Looking at the bag for another minute, Susannah slowly reached forward and took it from him. "Thanks, Jay," she muttered.

"No problem." The smirk returned to Jay's face. "I'm going to make sure you eat that."

Susannah returned it. "Fine." Then, it slowly vanished. "Can we just head back to the room?" She wanted to talk more privately with Jay and Allie about what she and Chris had discovered to see if they would have any clue about what tie the money values had to Adam.

Jay noted the change in her tone, the look in her eye getting her silent message across. "Yeah, sure," he replied. "That's where we were headed. Come on."

Susannah smiled as she got to her feet, turning back to Chris when he stood up next to her. "Thanks for your help," she said, giving him a quick hug. "At least we got a little something out of that."

"That's true," Chris agreed with a slight smile when he pulled away from her. "Just keep your head up, okay? We'll figure this out. We're already getting there slowly but surely."

"You're right," Susannah agreed, the slight smile lingering on her face. "And I will. See you around."

"Bye, Susannah."

Jay led the way across the lobby, Allie and Susannah walking together behind him. "Did you and Chris figure out something?" he asked as the three of them made their way up the stairs.

"Maybe," Susannah answered as they walked down the hallway toward Jay and Allie's room. She paused for a minute, watching as Phil gave them a small smile as he walked down the hall going the opposite way. "But I want to talk to you guys more about it. It doesn't make much sense to me."

"Well, I'm sure we'll be able to get something out of it," Jay told her as they turned the corner. "At least you found it."

Susannah sighed. "Yeah, that's true, I guess," she said.

Jay placed his hand on her shoulder for a minute, giving her a small smile as the three of them approached the room. But as he reached for the door handle, he suddenly paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What's wrong, Jay?" Allie wondered, nervous by her boyfriend's sudden change in behavior.

"Hold on," Jay muttered, staring at the handle intently. He ran his finger lightly over the doorframe right by it, his eyes only narrowing more when he felt chipped wood. "The door's been forced open. Someone broke in. Both of you stay behind me."

Susannah and Allie exchanged terrified looks, taking a couple steps closer to each other. Jay then pushed on the door, finding it opened under enough force, and looked into the dark room. He cautiously took a step forward, listening for any hints of movement before turning on the light.

His eyes widened in horror while Susannah and Allie gasped as they looked into the room.

Pillows and blankets from the bed and couch had been thrown all over the floor, the chairs by the window knocked over. All of their bags were also on the floor, their luggage emptied all over the place.

"What in the world..." Allie began, staring at the mess with disbelief.

Susannah looked around the room with wide eyes as well, not knowing why someone would break in and do something like this. But then, her face drained of color when something on the side wall above the bed caught her eye. "Oh, my God..."

Allie followed her gaze, and she covered her mouth as her eyes widened. "Is... is that what I think it is?" she murmured, grabbing onto Jay's arm tightly.

Jay glanced at what they were looking at, dread flooding through him. "I really hope not, Allie," he replied just as quietly.

Written above the bed in dripping, dark red lettering was five words.

_You're running out of time._

**Author's Note**: A bit of an ominous ending. Is Edge okay? You'll have to find out! Please review, and leave your guesses as to who's behind this! Thank you!


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! There are more clues as this story quickly picks up, so keep an eye out for them. Hope you enjoy!

_Chapter 10_

Susannah stared at the crimson writing with horror, the color draining from her face. She knew what her two friends feared the lettering was made from since it was what she dreaded as well. The words looked eerily like blood.

Then, she felt her legs start to give out a little from under her. Allie noticed the sudden movement out of the corner of her eye, quickly throwing her arms out to steady her. "Whoa! Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah," Susannah answered quietly. "Fine..."

Jay looked at her with concern, helping his girlfriend bring her over to the couch. They sat Susannah down, Allie sitting next to her and taking her hand tightly while Jay slowly crossed the room to stand in front of the message. He cautiously scratched at the letter nearest him, closing his eyes for a moment.

"It's okay," he told them, turning back to face Allie and Susannah. "It's just paint."

Susannah let out a relieved breath as she closed her eyes, putting her head in her hands while Allie leaned a little closer to her as she sighed with relief as well. She was just grateful the lettering hadn't turned out to be written in blood since if it had been, Adam would have had to lose quite a bit of it to form even that short sentence.

Then, Susannah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket when it started to ring, her stomach tightening nervously when she saw Adam's name flashing on the screen. "It's them," she muttered, looking at her two friends.

Jay exchanged a knowing look with Allie before he nodded. "Put it on speaker," he said quietly.

Susannah nodded, answering the call and doing what he suggested. "Hello?"

_"How did you like our little message?" _The voice of the long-haired leader filled the room.

Dread flooded through Susannah as she slowly looked up at Jay again, able to tell by the look in his eye the same thought was on his mind. How had the gang known they had seen the writing?

"Um... I..." She paused, not knowing what else she could say.

"How the hell did you get into our room?" Jay wondered, his tone sharper. He, Allie, and Susannah hadn't been gone long.

The leader of the gang laughed. _"That should be the least of your concerns," _he told him, unfazed by his harsher tone. _"What should matter more is what your friend is going through. Isn't he like your brother?"_

Jay's fist clenched tightly, but before he could say anything in retaliation, Allie placed a calming hand on his chest. "Don't," she muttered. "It's not worth it."

_"Yes, listen to your girlfriend," _the gang leader said, his tone a little darker. _"Getting angry with me isn't going to do your friend any good. What you need to do is listen to our warning. You're running out of time to find him."_

Her nightmares immediately came back to her, and Susannah took a deep breath as she glanced back at the written message on the wall. "Running out of time?" she repeated.

_"That's what I said," _the gang leader replied. _"I would hurry up if I were you."_

"But we don't have much to go by," Susannah protested. "If you want us to hurry so much, you need to give us more."

The long-haired man laughed in response. _"If you just think, my dear, you would understand why we had to do this," _he told her. _"It's really not all that difficult. As for where he is, well, you have a resource."_

Jay nodded slightly at his words. "The video," he muttered.

There was a pause on the other end, and when they heard the gang leader's voice again, it sounded somewhat distant as he talked to someone else who must have been in the room with him. _"Bring Adam in."_

"He's there?" Susannah's anxiety spiked when she heard his words. "Let me talk to him."

But the gang leader only laughed. _"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, sweetheart," _he said. _"He's a little... busy."_

Susannah bit her bottom lip nervously. "What do you-!"

Suddenly, she heard a gasp of pain that sounded familiar. "Adam?" she whispered before her voice rose. "What are you doing?"

_"He's taking it better than last time, isn't he?" _The gang leader's voice was quieter, speaking to whoever was in the room with him. _"He's got that fight in him again. We need to fix that. Use another dart."_

"Leave him alone!" Jay shouted, his eyes narrowing angrily at the phone in Susannah's hand when she couldn't say anything. He had no idea what the gang was doing to Adam, but he knew it wasn't good. "Just stop! We get it! We're running out of time. You don't need to prove anything!"

The long-haired man laughed a little at his outburst. _"Oh, but I do," _ he replied. _"Not only for you, but for your friend here as well."_

Jay cursed under his breath, watching as Allie sunk to the bed. "I swear, when we find you, I'm going to-!"

But before he could finish his threat, Jay's eyes widened fearfully when he heard an agonized scream come from the phone. "Adam! Adam!"

_"Yell all you want," _the gang leader said with a laugh, the sound of Adam's pain still easily heard in the background. _"He can't hear you."_

Jay's fist clenched tightly at his side as he glared at the phone, his best friend's hoarse screams echoing in his ears. He then glanced at Susannah when her phone fell to the bed, watching as she covered her face as she started to cry before reaching forward and picking it up himself.

"Time on our side or not, I promise you will regret ever taking him," Jay hissed while Allie reached over and pulled the girl he considered to be his sister close to her. "I will personally make sure of that."

But the long-haired man on the other end seemed unfazed. _"We'll see about that," _he muttered as Adam's screams weakly started to die off. _"We'll see."_ Then, the line went dead.

* * *

Anna left the bathroom in their hotel room, surprised to see Mike was pulling a hooded sweatshirt over his head. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked.

Mike sighed, looking back at her. "I'm going to drive around a bit to see if there's anything we overlooked," he answered, pulling the keys to the rental car out of his bag. "Adam has to be here somewhere."

"We didn't find anything last time," Anna cautiously reminded him. "I agree he's probably here in Venice, but what's going to make this time different?"

"I don't know, but there has to be something," Mike muttered, sounding a bit frustrated. "There has to be something we missed. They want us to figure out why he was taken and find him, right? There has to be something..."

"Mike!" Anna said firmly, stepping in front of him and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Slow down. I'm worried about him too, but you're not going to do Adam any good if you're wandering around aimlessly."

For a moment, Mike simply stared down at his girlfriend. "I know, Anna," he replied quietly. "But I need to do something. I can't sit around here hoping something happens or we miraculously figure out where he is. I just can't. Not after what Phil said about Adam last night."

Anna's gaze darkened sadly as she sighed. "Look, everyone's tempers were high last night," she told him. "You can't take what Phil said seriously. He-!"

But her sentence was cut off when Mike leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. "I know it was just because everyone is stressed out because of the situation," he muttered, running his fingers through her curls. "But you have to admit there is some truth to what he said. From what we saw on the video, Adam is not in good shape, and we have no idea what's being done to him as we speak. The longer we take, the more that will be done. And I can't just sit around knowing that."

Before Anna could say anything in return, Mike pulled her a little closer and gave her a quick but loving kiss. "Besides, if any of us were in his place, Adam would do what he could to find us," he added. "You can come with me or stay here, but either way, I'm going out to look some more."

Anna looked up at her boyfriend for a long moment before she sighed. Though she hadn't been dating him all that long, she had been with him long enough to know there was no changing his mind when it was set on something. "All right, where are you going?" she wondered.

Mike gave her a small smile. "I knew you'd see it my way," he said. "I'm going to check out some of the areas closer to the canal we didn't get around to when Jillian came with us. Maybe there's something there."

"Well, of course. I'm not going to let you run around Venice by yourself," Anna replied, rolling her eyes as she pulled her own sweatshirt on. "Okay, sounds good. Doing something is better than nothing, I suppose."

Once they were both ready to go, Mike led the way out of the hotel and crossed the parking lot to their rental car. He climbed in behind the wheel, waiting until Anna got her seatbelt on next to him before starting it up and driving away from the building.

"So, just out of curiosity, do you have _any _real clue where we're going?" Anna asked when they came to a stop at a red light. When they had looked around for any clues with Jillian, they had covered a lot of areas and hadn't found anything.

"Well, as I said, I'm going to head down to the canal areas," Mike answered, turning left at the intersection before reaching over and taking his girlfriend's hand. "We didn't really get over there last time. And we agreed Adam has to be here somewhere."

Anna nodded, sighing as she looked out the window at the city around her and tightened her fingers around Mike's hand. The sky was covered with overcast clouds, only adding to the tiredness she felt from lack of sleep due to worry about their friend. Her eyes slowly closed, the sound from the music playing on the radio surrounding her...

"Hey, Anna. Didn't Susannah say a warehouse was mentioned in that notebook she found?"

"Hmm? What?" Anna jumped slightly at the sudden sound of her boyfriend's voice, blinking a few times to try to fight off the exhaustion that was setting in. She had no idea how long he had been driving or how long she had been asleep. "What did you say?"

Mike sighed, glancing over at her. "I said didn't Susannah say a warehouse was mentioned in that notebook she found," he repeated.

"Oh..." Anna bit her lip thoughtfully as she tried to remember what she had told them about the notebook. "Um, yeah, I think so. But she also said there were a lot here, so it didn't really help too much."

"Well, she's definitely right about that," Mike muttered, gazing out the window ahead of him intently. "Look how many there are."

Anna followed where he was looking while Mike slowed down a little, seeing there was a long line of warehouses across the canal from them, the bridge that overlooked the Grand Canal not too far away. "Do you think he's in one of those?" she wondered.

"Could be," Mike said, not moving his eyes much from the buildings that were so close yet so far. "A lot of them look like they're not in use anymore... It'd be a good place to hide someone, you would think. No one's really around."

"If he is there, I feel really bad for Adam." Anna rubbed her tired eyes. "Aside from what he's being put through, being kept in a place like that can't be easy."

Mike slowly shook his head. "Want to give someone a call?" he suggested. "I think we should tell them we found a possibility. Obviously we can't tell which one, but you never know. It could be one of these..."

Anna pulled her phone out of her pocket, starting to go through her contacts as she debated about who she wanted to call. She finally decided on Susannah, but before she could reach her number, she gasped when the car came to an abrupt stop. "Damn it, Mike, what the hell-!"

"This jackass just pulled in front of me!" Mike snapped angrily, glaring at the black car that was now blocking their way as he put the car in park and honked the horn a couple times. "Stupid asshole needs to learn how to drive..."

Sighing, Anna reached over and placed her hand on Mike's knee in a calming way. She then turned back to her contacts as she continued looking for Susannah's number, but she had a bad feeling as she kept glancing up at the dark car and seeing it wasn't moving. "Uh, Mike..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to turn around," Mike muttered irritably, about to put the car in reverse so they could go back the way they had come since the car was still blocking them.

But before he could, Anna screamed when a couple men wearing black leather jackets approached their car, pounding loudly on the driver's side window. Mike gasped when they pulled the door open, forcing him out of his seat as they dragged him out of the car. He couldn't see their faces really well since they were wearing some sort of mask to conceal their features, but the one striking quality he could tell was the flash of black hair he saw on both of the men.

Mike punched one of them in the jaw, loosening his mask a little. But before he could land another hit, the second man grabbed his arms and forcefully pushed him against the car, watching as Mike slumped limply to the ground after his head connected hard with the door.

Anna anxiously looked back at her phone once she reached Susannah's number, quickly hitting the call button so she could try to get help. She waited tensely while it rang, biting her lip as she heard the men who were attacking them talking outside.

"Get him back in the car. You drive them back to the hotel. I'll go behind."

Her mind was anxiously racing as the phone rang another time. Her first instinct was to run and get away from these men since she knew she was going to be the next target. But she couldn't leave Mike alone with them...

Then, she gasped quietly when she heard her friend answer. _"Hello?"_

"Susannah, you-!" Anna started, but her sentence was cut off when her door was suddenly opened, and she screamed when she saw one of the men standing on the other side. He took the phone from her grasp and ended the call before reaching toward her, and that was the last thing she saw.

* * *

Adam lay on the hard floor on his side, eyes shut tightly as he wrapped his arms around him as best as he could with his hands tied and continued to shiver. The room had always been cold and damp, but it had never affected him this much before. He was absolutely freezing except for his head, which felt heavy and hot. The pain in his already roughed up back and the newly acquired cuts on his chest from the second round of the acid-tipped darts weren't making his situation any more manageable, and if anything, only made him want him to surrender to the sleep that loomed over him. But it was also that pain that wouldn't allow him to.

Then, he sighed when he thought of the engagement ring in his pocket, his mind moving to Susannah. He still had no idea whether or not she was all right, hurt, or, though he hated to even think it, worse. Adam had no idea how the men had gotten her ring, and that was what worried him. It was getting steadily harder for him to take the punishment of what the gang was doing to him, and if she wasn't there waiting for him...

The door to the room suddenly opened, and Adam quietly groaned when the light fueled his already pounding headache, even through his eyelids. The sound of the heeled footsteps almost seemed amplified to him, and he would have tried covering his ears, but he was too cold to move his arms from where they were. He unconsciously flinched when a gentle hand landed on his shoulder, but he still didn't open his eyes. If she was the only one there, he'd be all right.

The woman looked down at their captive with concern, noticing he wasn't in good condition. His face was a little paler aside from his cheeks, which appeared to be flushed. His breathing was a bit shallow and irregular, and she could feel him shivering under her hand. "Adam, are you okay?" she asked quietly, running her thumb lightly over his shoulder to try to get a response. "Adam?"

Adam only moaned weakly in response, and the woman's worry increased when he turned his head slightly to look at her through dim, weary eyes. He closed them again when the woman reached forward and placed her hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up," she muttered, alarmed to feel the heat coming from him. "I'm going to get you some water and a blanket or something, okay?"

Though what she mentioned sounded ideal, Adam couldn't form a response as the woman got to her feet and walked away from him. He figured she knew how grateful he would be. She was the best person who could have discovered him like this since she was his best chance of getting help.

The woman hurried toward the door, but before she could reach it, she stopped when the man with longer hair and braided beard entered the room. "What are you doing?" he wondered, looking at her curiously.

"I need to get some things for him," the woman answered, gesturing back to where Adam lay shivering on the floor.

"He doesn't need anything," her boyfriend said, brushing her words aside. "What do you want to get him?"

"No. He does," the woman replied firmly. "He's burning up. He needs help."

The man turned to look at their captive, moving his girlfriend aside before crossing the room and stopping in front of him. He knelt down on the floor, watching as Adam's eyes slowly fluttered open, his exhausted gaze moving to the dark-haired woman standing behind him before closing again.

"He needs help," she repeated quietly, placing her hand on the man's shoulder. "Can't you see that?"

"Well, I'll admit he's not looking too good," her boyfriend muttered. Then, he reached forward and grabbed a handful of the fevered man's blond hair, pulling his head roughly upward. Adam quietly whimpered, but otherwise didn't respond. He sighed as he looked over him carefully, taking in his flushed cheeks and shivering body before setting him back on the ground. Then, he got to his feet and faced his girlfriend.

"Call him."

* * *

Jillian sighed heavily as she left her sister's hotel room, running her hand through her hair. Working with her, Jay, and Susannah, it had taken a couple hours to clean up their trashed room, especially getting the red paint off the wall. Though she had tried to act brave, she could see how terrified Susannah was, especially after hearing about the phone call they had gotten from the gang. They truly were running out of time to find Adam.

As she turned the corner to get to her room, she saw Phil was leaving his room as he spoke into his cell phone, focused on whatever the person on the other line was saying as he walked toward her. She was able to hear his quiet response as he got closer.

"What's wrong?" He paused for a minute, not even seeming to notice her. "Yeah... Okay, I'll be right there."

Phil then ended the call and put the phone in his pocket, stopping with surprise when he almost walked into her. "Oh, hey, Jill..."

"Everything okay?" Jillian wondered, noticing the concern in his hazel eyes.

"Uh, yeah, everything's fine," Phil told her with a small smile. "Listen, Jill, I'd stay and talk, but I gotta run. I'll meet with you later, all right?"

"Sure..." Jillian looked at Phil curiously as he gave her a short hug, watching as he walked quickly down the hallway and out of sight. She sighed, continuing on her way to her room. She pushed open the door and walked inside, turning on the light before she collapsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling above her. She couldn't help but think Phil had been acting a little strange, especially after the near disaster the night before with everyone getting on him for what he said about Adam.

But Jay was right. Tempers were running high, but they needed to stay together if they wanted to help their missing friend.

"Phil," Jillian whispered as she closed her eyes. "What are you doing?"

* * *

_Adam smiled to himself as he made his way back to his locker room after his match, knowing who was waiting for him. It had been his first time in the ring again after he had returned at the Royal Rumble after his Achilles tendon injury, and he had to admit it was great to be back. He didn't realize just how much he had missed it._

_But something had been a little different about the match. Adam felt like he hadn't been at the top of his game like he had been before the injury. The affected ankle area still felt a bit stiff, and a couple times, a little sore. He had questioned many times while he had been home recovering if the snapped Achilles tendon was something he could come back from, and after the Royal Rumble, believed he had. But what he wasn't sure of was if he had come back completely or if he even would._

_When he opened the door, his smile broadened at seeing her. She was sitting on the couch, a matching smile on her face when she saw him come in. "Hey, Addy," Susannah said, getting to her feet and crossing the room to him. "You looked great out there!"_

_"Thanks, baby." Adam closed the door of his locker room behind him before placing his hands on her hips. He kissed her forehead before sighing as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her._

_"Everything okay?" Susannah asked, winding her arms around his waist tightly as she looked up at him with concern. He seemed a bit quiet, and the way he held her felt tense. Something was off._

_Adam put a small smile on his face as he ran his hand through his girlfriend's hair. "Yeah, fine," he answered. "Just tired." His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Susannah's expression didn't change. "What?"_

_Susannah sighed, running his fingers lightly over his back. "You can't lie to me, Adam," she muttered. "How's your ankle?"_

_"My ankle is just fine..." Adam started, but when Susannah raised her eyebrows, he looked away from her. She always had been perceptive of him. "Okay. A few times during the match, it got stiff and a little sore."_

_"How bad did it hurt?" Susannah wondered, her eyes moving down to his left foot._

_Adam put his hand beneath her chin and titled her head back up to meet his gaze. "Nothing I couldn't handle," he told her truthfully. "It wasn't excruciating or anything. Promise."_

_Susannah looked into his eyes for a moment longer before she nodded. "All right, I believe you," she said. "I guess it's not really too unusual. The doctor did say to expect that."_

_"That he did." Adam sighed. "It's all part of the healing process, I guess. But it's still a bit frustrating."_

_"I know." Susannah brushed some of her boyfriend's hair back from his face. "But it'll get better. It may just take a little time yet. But it will."_

_Adam gave her a true smile, leaning down and giving her a soft but loving kiss. "Let me get changed, and then we'll head out of here," he muttered. "What do you say? Want to stop somewhere to get a quick something to eat before we go back to the hotel?"_

_"Sure, sounds good," Susannah replied with a smile of her own, kissing him deeply before he could pull away. They stayed close for a minute longer before Adam let go of her, grabbing his bag from the couch and going into the smaller connected room to change out of his ring gear while she sat back on the couch to wait for him._

_He came back out a few minutes later wearing a black t-shirt and light jeans, putting his bag over his shoulder as he held his other hand out to Susannah. She smiled as she took it while he pulled her to her feet, and they left the locker room together and made their way through the halls of the arena. Adam then led her across the parking lot when they left the building, signing some autographs for a few fans waiting around, before they got to their rental car. He put his bag in the backseat while Susannah got in the passenger seat, climbing in behind the wheel before leaving the parking lot._

_"So, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" Adam asked, driving away from the arena._

_"Uh, not really," Susannah answered, turning up the radio a little bit when she heard a song she liked on the all rock station._

_"Not really," Adam repeated quietly with a slight laugh, shaking his head a little as he stopped at a red light. "I would try to think of a place, baby." He then glanced at her and winked. "Or, we could always just head back to the hotel, and-!"_

_Suddenly, he was cut off when they were hit from behind by another car who hadn't been able to stop in time, his girlfriend's startled scream echoing around him. "Susannah, are you all right?" he wondered anxiously, looking at her with concern._

_Susannah nodded, but he could tell by the look on her face she was shocked by the impact. "Ye-yeah..." she muttered. "I'm fine..."_

_Adam reached over with one arm and wrapped it tightly around the shaken Susannah, pulling her close as he glanced at the car behind them in the rearview mirror. He saw the driver was young when he stepped out, looking as nervous about the small accident as they did. They hadn't been hit too hard, but he was still grateful neither one of them had been injured._

_But as he put the car in park and turned on the hazard lights so he could exchange information with the driver at fault, he inwardly sighed with frustration when his ankle was a little sore after being shaken in the slight collision. No matter how hard he had tried to tell himself otherwise, he definitely hadn't come back like he had hoped._

* * *

The dark-haired woman knelt next to Adam on the hard floor in the damp room, sighing as she covered him up with a blanket she had run out and gotten. She watched sadly as he pulled it closer to him as he continued to shiver, his eyes narrowing slightly before slowly opening as he looked up at her with confusion. "Why are you doing this...?" he whispered. It was a question he had asked before, but it was still something he didn't understand.

"Shh... Rest up now," the woman muttered, running her fingers through his blond hair. "You need it."

But Adam flinched away from her touch a bit, shaking his head. "I don't... get why..." he began, his voice trailing off weakly.

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly with concern. "Rest, Adam," she repeated quietly, watching as he pulled the blanket even closer to try to get warm. "You need to get your strength back. Here." She reached into her bag and pulled out another water bottle and opened it. She then tried to lift Adam's head slightly, sighing when he tried to resist. "Please, don't make this hard on me."

Adam looked at her carefully, turning his head slightly away from her as he closed his eyes. The woman ran her hand through his hair again, putting the bottle to his lips to try to coax him into drinking some of the water. After a couple more minutes, Adam couldn't fight her efforts as he took a few sips of the water, the cool liquid soothing his raw throat. When he was finished, he turned away from her, curling up on himself a little more after the woman set him back on the floor.

"You don't have... to help me..." he said as the woman closed the bottle and put it back in her bag.

She looked up at him when she heard his quiet statement, able to hear the defeat in his tone. She remembered how when a few of the gang members had rescued her from the hotel, one had taken Adam's girlfriend's ring, and knowing them, they probably hadn't told him how they had gotten it. And since the woman could see the fight in him was quickly fading, she assumed he thought the worst.

Unsure of how much time had passed as she simply sat next to their captive to watch over him, the woman slowly reached forward and placed her hand on his head. He didn't respond to her, and that along with his light breathing confirmed he was asleep, though she knew it couldn't have been very restful.

"Your girlfriend," she whispered, running her thumb over his cheek once. "She's alive and looking for you. Hang in there for her, Adam."

* * *

Chris left his hotel room and walked down the hallway toward the stairs. He finished pulling on his light sweatshirt as he made his way down to the lobby, quickly crossing it and stepping outside. A light drizzle had begun, but he didn't mind as he made his way toward his car.

As he got closer, something made Chris slow his pace a little. Mike's rental car was parked next to his, and from his angle, he saw he was sitting behind the wheel with someone, who he assumed was Anna, in the passenger seat. He quickly unlocked his own car before walking around to the other side to ask where they were headed.

But as soon as he reached the driver's side window, Chris gasped and backed up into his car when he looked inside.

Mike was sitting with his head back against the seat, his eyes closed with a thin trail of blood slowly running down the side of his face. In the seat next to him, Anna was leaning against the window, her eyes closed as well.

Once his heart rate slowed a little, Chris fumbled for his cell phone so he could call for help. But then, he paused when he noticed a piece of paper under the windshield wiper, and he slowly reached forward and grabbed it. He carefully unfolded it, quickly reading over the scribbled handwriting.

_To whom it may concern-_

_Do not get any medical help involved. It isn't necessary. Some bed rest and aspirin will be plenty. This is a message to show you we are not playing around. Time is working against all of you._

_Good luck finding your friend._

**Author's Note**: So, the gang is striking out more. And things aren't looking good for poor Edge. There are some definite clues in here. Did you spot them? Let me know! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Please review, and thank you!


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! I'm sorry for the delay. The site wouldn't let me update anything for a while. But anyway, things are definitely getting more intense, so keep an eye out for clues! Glad to see you guys have guesses on who could be behind this. As for this chapter, enjoy!

_Chapter 11_

Allie came to a stop in front of the hotel room and knocked on the door. A minute passed before it opened, revealing Jillian on the other side. "Hey, you wanted to talk?" she asked.

"Yeah, come on in," Jillian answered, backing away from the doorway so her younger sister could enter the room. Once she was inside, she shut the door again behind her.

"What's up? Everything okay?" Allie wondered. Not long after Jillian had left after helping clean up their room, she had gotten a text from the other girl asking if they could meet to talk.

"Um, yeah, I think so," Jillian said. "But I don't know... Want to go out for coffee or something? We can discuss this then."

Allie raised an eyebrow. "Sure, that'd be good," she replied. She could tell the other girl's thoughts were scattered, but she had no idea what was causing it.

Jillian smiled slightly. "Okay, cool." She went to the bed and grabbed her purse, putting it over her shoulder as she dug out the keys to her rental car. "Shall we?"

"Yep." Allie opened the door and stepped out into the hallway with Jillian behind her, and the sisters walked down the hallway as they made their way toward the staircase. They crossed the lobby and left the hotel, walking over to the car. Jillian got in behind the wheel while Allie got into the seat next to her, and they drove away from the building.

There was a long moment of silence between them for a while as they looked around for a cafe, and finally, Allie couldn't stand it anymore. "All right, Jillian, what's going on?" she asked.

Jillian sighed, glancing at her for a second before looking back at the road ahead of them. "There's just a lot on my mind," she answered. "Mainly from last night..."

"Phil?" Allie guessed since it seemed what he had said was one of the main things on everyone's minds. When Jillian nodded, she sighed. "Look, I know it's something we're all concerned about, but..."

"It's not what he said, exactly," Jillian muttered thoughtfully as she came to a stop at a red light.

"Oh? Then what is it?" Allie pressed.

Jillian watched as the light rainfall made patterns on the windshield before the wipers erased them for a moment before she spoke quietly. "I don't think Phil did anything."

Allie looked at her sister with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you saw how everyone was getting on Phil last night," Jillian explained. "They were almost accusing with the whole sound wave thing and with what he said about Adam. Almost like he knew something or..."

"You're not suggesting he has something to do with what happened to Adam, are you?"

Jillian bit her lip as she drove through the intersection when the light turned green. "No..." she muttered. "But think about it, Allison. You said yourself you didn't know how the gang knew you were back in your room when they called. Either they have some of the members close by... or someone closer watching us."

Allie was quiet for a long moment, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. There were a lot of times where she was on the same page as her older sister, but she just couldn't bring herself to think that someone close to them could actually be part of this nightmare. She didn't want to believe that one of her friends would really be behind the capture and torture of the man she considered her brother.

"I just don't think Phil would do that," Jillian continued when Allie stayed quiet. "I mean, he wouldn't... He was kinda acting a little strange today, though."

"How so?" Allie asked, turning to look at her.

Jillian glanced back at her. "I only saw him for a minute, probably less," she answered. "But he was on the phone, and from what I could gather, something was wrong. Then he just took off."

Allie sighed as she looked back out the window. She wanted to agree with Jillian that Phil didn't have anything to do with what happened to Adam. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense that someone closer to them at least knew something, especially after the perfect timing of the phone call Susannah had gotten from the gang after they found the writing on the wall. And they had seen Phil walking away from the area where their room was before they discovered it had been trashed...

But before she could make any other comments, Allie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket when she felt it quickly vibrate, seeing she had a text from Jay. She opened it, and her eyes widened fearfully.

* * *

Susannah quickly left the hotel room, pulling her sweatshirt over her head as she jogged down the hall. Jay was right with her as they made their way down the stairs to the lobby.

"So what exactly happened?" Jay wondered as they reached the bottom of the staircase. He didn't really know much about why Susannah was suddenly so worried. After Allie had left to meet with Jillian, they had been watching television for a little while until she had gotten a phone call from Anna. It was very short, and after she hung up, she had grabbed her sweatshirt and left. Jay barely had time to grab his sweatshirt and keys to his rental car.

"I'm not sure," Susannah told him as they walked across the lobby. "Anna called, she sounded scared, she screamed, and the line went dead. Something's wrong."

Jay's eyes narrowed slightly as she pushed open the door of the hotel and walked outside into the darkening evening. "You think they're somewhere away from here?" he pressed, pulling his sweatshirt on to fight off the slight drizzle that had begun.

Susannah nodded. "If she was at the hotel, there would have been some kind of commotion," she muttered.

"All right. We'll take my car and see if we can find anything," Jay said, scanning the lot for it. But his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion when he saw Chris standing close by, a startled look on his face as he stared at what appeared to be Mike's renal car. "Chris, what's going on?"

Chris looked up at the sound of his name, and seeing how concerned he looked, Jay led the way over to him with Susannah close behind. "Look," he simply replied, gesturing to the car.

Jay stopped next to the other man, following his gaze. His eyes widened in horror when he saw Mike and Anna inside, both unconscious. "Oh, my God..."

Susannah gasped and covered her mouth at the sight. "Are they okay?" she asked anxiously.

"I think so," Chris answered. "There was also this..." He handed the note he had found to Jay.

"Yeah, they'll be fine," Jay confirmed as he quickly read over the scribbled handwriting before pulling out his cell phone to text his girlfriend about what happened. "It's pretty obvious who was behind this."

"The gang?" When Jay nodded, Susannah sighed. "But I don't get it. Why attack them?" She then looked over the note when Jay passed it to her.

Chris shrugged. "I'm sure that's something they'll be able to answer when they wake up," he muttered. "Meanwhile, let's get them inside."

* * *

The leader of the gang sighed, pulling his long, dark hair from his face and tying it back in a ponytail as the sun set over the canal. He started to pace in front of the warehouse where they were keeping their captive, feeling restless. His girlfriend had called the man who he had made the plans to take Adam with to tell him about his condition, and from what she said, he sounded angry. He really couldn't blame him. Adam was in bad shape.

He heard the sound of approaching tires, and he watched as a dark car slowly pulled up across from the warehouse near the canal without its headlights on. The car shut off before the second man stepped out, a hood over his head.

"How bad is he?" the new arrival immediately asked, approaching the dark-haired man.

"Pretty bad," the gang leader answered quietly, his dark eyes flickering nervously. He was afraid of what he would say about their captive's condition. "He has a high fever."

The hooded man sighed heavily, looking away for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "Bring me to him," he muttered.

"Um... all right." The long-haired man led the new arrival into the boat-filled garage, silent as they walked down an aisle toward the door at the back lit by a flickering lightbulb. He opened it, but he stopped with confusion and looked behind him when the other man didn't keep going. "What?"

"Hold on one minute," the second man said, crouching on the ground. "I'm going to leave a little clue for Adam's friends once they find this place. You know it'll only be a matter of time."

The gang leader watched as wrote something short in the dirt. "They'll know what that means?" he wondered.

"Yes." The man who had came up with the initial plan involving Adam got to his feet, lowering his hood. "That is if our captive is still alive for them to come and get."

The dark-haired man lowered his gaze and walked into the large, dimly lit room where they had made the first video for those trying to find Adam with the other man behind him. They were silent as they crossed and went through another door, walking down a dark hallway. The man who had just arrived glanced around, seeing other members of the gang were hanging around near a door at the end of the hall, but they scattered when the two men in power reached them.

"He's in here," the gang leader told him.

"Open it," the second man ordered.

Sighing heavily, the dark-haired man tightened his ponytail before opening the door, holding it for him. The man with him walked into the room, seeing it was small and damp. He looked around intently, noticing the leader of the gang's girlfriend was kneeling on the floor next to who he assumed was Adam.

"Move out of the way," he said, approaching them.

The dark-haired woman gasped as she quickly looked up at the man truly in charge, but she stayed close to Adam. "What are you going to do?"

Anger crossed the man's face. "I _said_ move out of the way," he repeated.

Though it was against her better judgement, the woman sighed as she looked back down at Adam, running her fingers through his hair once more before she got to her feet. She looked at the new arrival nervously before crossing the room to where her boyfriend was standing in the doorway, leaning into him when he wrapped his arms around her.

Making sure she was going to stay away, the man in charge of the entire plan turned his attention to their fevered captive, quickly taking in his flushed cheeks and shivering body to assess his condition. For a moment, his gaze saddened as he looked down on Adam, curled up in a blanket as he fitfully slept. This was his friend, or at least had been, and the man he was supposed to be trying to save. Yet here he was with him, not going to help him escape.

"The blanket was a good idea. I think the temperature of this room is part of the problem," the man muttered, dropping to one knee next to Adam. He placed his hand lightly on the other man's forehead to check his temperature before he lowered the blanket a little, noticing the dark red cuts on his chest and his roughed up back before covering him back up. "And these marks... What are the ones on his chest from? They look infected."

The dark-haired gang leader exchanged a nervous look with his girlfriend. "The marks on his chest are from darts dipped in acid..." he told him quietly.

"Acid darts?" the man who had been called in repeated in disbelief as he looked back at them. "Did you ever consider he might have a reaction to them? And the marks on his back are probably infected too..."

"I'm sorry," the dark-haired man said, gaining a little confidence back as his girlfriend wrapped her arms around him tightly. "But I'm just having my gang do what you told us to do. This is _your _plan."

"My plan wasn't to kill him!" the second man snapped angrily as he got to his feet. "He needs to be alive so his friends come for him. He can't die now."

The dark-haired leader glared down the man who had done the actual planning, finally sighing as he moved his dark eyes from his intense gaze. "What would you have me do?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not having you do anything right now, not after you let him get like this," the second man answered, shaking his head slightly. "I'll take care of him myself. I can't trust you to keep him alive. I'm going to run out and get some materials, but I'll be back soon. Then I'll head back before I'm missed."

"Fine. Do what you will." The dark-haired leader angrily turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. His girlfriend stood still for a moment, stunned, before turning her dark eyes to the man she had called. Seeing the fury on his face as well, she quickly opened the door and left after her boyfriend, shutting the door a little softer behind her.

Sighing, the man in charge of the gang's operations ran his hand through his hair as he looked back at Adam. "Hold on for a bit longer. I'll get what you need," he told him, unsure if he could hear him.

To his surprise, Adam turned his head in his direction and mouthed something, unable to make a sound. He was still asleep, but he appeared to recognize his voice. He would have to be more careful. He looked at him for a long minute as the fevered man continued to slowly mouth a word he couldn't quite make out, his gaze darkening slightly.

"I'm sorry, Adam."

* * *

_Adam slowly opened his eyes, squinting a little in the bright sunlight above him. He heard the crunching of leaves underneath him as he sat up and looked around, putting his hand to his head._

_He was sitting in what appeared to be a fenced in backyard, colored leaves that had fallen from the surrounding trees littering the ground around him. Sighing, Adam ran his hand through his hair and rubbed his tired eyes. The area didn't seem familiar to him, yet he somehow felt as though he knew it._

_Then, he quickly looked over his shoulder when he heard more leaves crunch quietly behind him, and Adam found himself looking at a girl who couldn't have been much older than three staring back at him with hazel eyes. Her short blond hair was tied back in a loose ponytail behind her head, and a broad smile appeared on her face when she saw him._

_"Found you!" she said happily, skipping over to him._

_Adam stared at the girl with surprise as she stopped next to him, not able to tear his gaze away from her eyes. They were so familiar to him, and the child's facial features somewhat reminded him of his own, just not exactly. But yet, he had never seen her before, though she seemed to know him._

_Before he could say anything, Adam's eyes narrowed slightly when a glint of silver around her neck caught the sunlight. Looking closer, he saw she was wearing a necklace with two thin hearts that were intertwined. It was the same one he had given to Susannah on their last anniversary before he proposed to her._

_"Where did you get that?" he asked quietly, gesturing to the necklace._

_The girl looked down at it too. "Silly," she answered with a laugh. "You gave me it!"_

_"I don't... remember..." Adam's sentence slowly trailed off as he put his hand to his head again. Not only did he have no clue who the girl with him was, he certainly didn't remember giving her the necklace he had given to his girlfriend of three years._

_Then, he looked up when he felt her small hand rest on his cheek, seeing she was smiling at him. "Come on! Mommy's waiting," she told him._

_"Mommy?" Adam repeated with confusion, slowly getting to his feet when the girl then grabbed his hand and started pulling. He brushed the fallen leaves off his navy sweater and light colored jeans, following after her as she pulled him along. Hopefully, he could get some answers._

_The girl led him to a simple, two-story white house the large backyard went along with. A Siberian husky lying on the porch raised his head curiously when they approached, and the girl let go of Adam's hand and hurried over to the dog._

_"'Chilles!" she said, petting its side and making its tail wag._

_Adam slowly walked up the couple porch steps after her, crouching down next to the dog as well. "You mean Achilles?" he wondered as it turned to look up at him with one blue and one brown eye. He recognized the puppy he had gotten Susannah for her birthday a few years before._

_"Yeah!" The girl turned and smiled up at him. "Pet him?"_

_"Sure," Adam muttered, reaching forward and petting the dog right behind his left ear since he knew that was his favorite spot. Achilles closed his eyes with contentment, and Adam smiled slightly. He was definitely the dog he had gotten for his girlfriend, just bigger._

_After a little while, the girl stood up and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to do the same. "Mommy's waiting," she told him again._

_Adam turned away from Achilles and got to his feet, watching as she opened the back screen door of the house and went inside. Sighing, Adam pulled the door open and stepped into the house's kitchen after her. He looked around, seeing a few wolf figurines and rose decorations on the counters and walls. The interior of the house was even more familiar to him than the backyard._

_The girl sat down at the round wooden table, looking up at him. "Sit by me!"_

_"Uh, okay." Adam gave her a small smile as he sat down in the chair next to her with a sigh. "So, where's Mommy?"_

_"She said lunch was ready," the girl replied with a smile of her own._

_"And it is."_

_Adam quickly looked up at the voice he knew very well, seeing Susannah had come into the kitchen. She walked over to the table, kissing the little girl's blonde head._

_"Thanks for getting your father," she said before kissing Adam's cheek and walking over to the stove._

_Father? Adam looked at the girl sitting next to him with shock. She was his daughter._

_"Welcome, Mommy." The girl then looked up at Adam. "What's wrong, Daddy?"_

_"Nothing," Adam finally answered, shaking his head slightly. He was still in disbelief that the child was his own._

_Susannah glanced over at him with concern as she took a grilled cheese sandwich out of the frying pan and cut it into two triangles. She then walked back over to the table and set the plate in front of the girl. "Hey," she muttered with a small smile. "If you be really careful, you can go eat in the living room like you did yesterday."_

_A broad smile appeared on the girl's face. "Thanks, Mommy!" She kissed Susannah's cheek before hopping off the chair, taking her plate and a napkin before hurrying into the living room._

_Adam watched as she left the room, Susannah laughing a little as she sat down in the chair the girl had previously been sitting in. "That girl..." he began to wonder quietly._

_Susannah looked at him, the smile slowly leaving her face. "Yeah," she said. "You know. Our daughter."_

_"Yeah, of course," Adam replied, shaking his head slightly. "Of course I know that."_

_Sighing, Susannah took his hand. He felt something cool, and Adam noticed that she was wearing a silver ring with a small diamond on her left ring finger. Glancing at his hand, he saw a silver band was around his own finger as well. "Adam, are you okay?" she asked. "You're acting... different."_

_"I'm fine, Susannah," Adam answered, closing his eyes for a moment when the dull pain in his head refused to subside. "I'm just not feeling so well."_

_Concern appearing on her face again, Susannah reached up with her free hand and placed it on his forehead. "You are feeling a little warm," she muttered before kissing it quickly to double check. "Maybe you're coming down with something. You should rest."_

_"Maybe," Adam agreed quietly, though he had a feeling it was something different. He had never felt like this before._

_Before Susannah could say anything else, they both looked up at the doorway when they heard quiet footsteps, seeing the little girl had come back. "Mommy, can I watch a movie?"_

_Susannah smiled at her. "Sure, sweetheart," she replied, starting to push herself to her feet. But she stopped when Adam placed his hand on her arm._

_"I'll do it," he muttered, standing up first._

_"Are you sure?" Susannah looked up at him as she slowly sat back down, worry clear in her hazel eyes._

_Adam smiled, kissing her forehead. "I'm sure," he told her. He wanted to get to know his own daughter a little more._

_"Well, all right..." Susannah muttered. "Is there anything you want me to make you for lunch?"_

_"No thank you. I'm not hungry," Adam said, taking her hand in his. He held it for a long moment, his eyes never leaving hers, before almost reluctantly releasing it and following the girl back into the living room. "Okay. What movie do you want to watch?"_

_"This one!" The girl walked over to the DVD rack and pulled one out from toward the bottom, holding it out to him with excitement._

_Adam took it, smiling when he saw it was _Muppet Treasure Island._ "Good choice," he told her, taking the disc out of its case and putting it in the DVD player._

_"Thanks, Daddy!" The girl then took her place back on the floor where her lunch was, taking a bite of her sandwich._

_Once it started playing, Adam sat down next to her, leaning back against the couch. He looked down at the girl, now able to clearly see how her facial features were his while her eyes belonged to her mother, both color and shape. She was just perfect, absolutely beautiful._

_When the first song of the movie ended, the girl leaned into Adam's side and snuggled up against him. Adam looked down at her, not expecting the action, and he slowly wrapped his arm around her too. _

_Then, he gasped quietly when the consistent pain that had been in his head since he had gotten there suddenly intensified. Adam closed his eyes tightly and put his hand to his forehead, feeling as though it was on fire. The searing pain then spread down to his back, and a small whimper of pain escaped from him though he tried to hold it back. This wasn't real, he knew that now. This wouldn't happen..._

_Beside him, his little girl didn't move from her spot curled up against him, seeming not to notice the severe pain he was suddenly in. Adam felt tears form behind his closed eyelids as the pain only got worse, but also when he heard his daughter's quiet voice._

_"I love you, Daddy."_

* * *

"Damn it, that hurts!"

Jay sighed as he lowered the ice pack from Mike's head. "Well, it'll hurt even worse if you keep making it difficult for me to help you," he replied irritably.

Mike grumbled under his breath when Jay put the ice pack back on the side of his head. "Yeah, well, _you_ try hitting _your _head on a car and see how _you_ feel..."

"I wouldn't be a baby about it."

Despite the situation, Susannah laughed a little as she listened to Jay continue to try to tend to Mike's injury in the bathroom. "Is he always like this?" she wondered, glancing at Anna sitting next to her on the bed. The four of them were in Mike and Anna's hotel room, grateful the couple had woken up. Chris had left a little bit before, saying he needed to go back to his room. Jay had also sent Allie a text about the situation, which she said she would be back as soon as she could with Jillian.

Anna laughed a bit herself. "Yeah, when he's hurt, anyway," she muttered. But then, she groaned quietly as she put her hand to her head. "I really can't blame him, though. I'm still a bit sore too."

Susannah looked at the other girl sadly. "Yeah, I bet," she replied. "What exactly happened to you guys? Something with the gang right?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming. But Mike and I were driving around, trying to find some clue to Adam's location," Anna explained. "And then this dark car blocked our path. Mike was going to turn around, but these guys attacked us. They went after Mike first and knocked him out. That's when I called you, but then one of the guys came after me. He had black hair and this mask or something to hide his face. But he took my phone, and that's the last thing I remember..."

"Well, I'm just glad you guys are okay," Susannah said, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders. "I'm sorry that happened. Do you know why they would attack you?"

Anna shrugged slightly. "It's okay, not much harm done," she replied lightly. "As for why they attacked us... I don't know. It seemed to be so random..."

Susannah nodded slightly. She understood everything must have happened so fast it was hard to tell why it happened. But then, another thought crossed her mind. "Why were you calling me in the first place? It wasn't because of the attack, was it?"

"No... It was something else." Anna stared ahead of her intently, her mind racing to try to remember all the details from before she was knocked unconscious. Then, her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yeah... Mike and I were driving around closer to the canal areas since we didn't really look there when we were out with Jillian. We found this whole line of warehouses, and that was when the car showed up..."

"So... you found the warehouses and then you were attacked?" Susannah repeated, getting it straight in her mind. "There has to be a connection there."

Anna looked at her. "Well, didn't you say a warehouse was mentioned in the notebook of plans you found?" she asked.

Susannah stared back at her for a minute before she pulled the pocket notebook she kept with her out of her sweatshirt pocket. "You're right..." She began to flip through the first couple pages, scanning the writing until she found what she wanted. "There. 'Bring to warehouse.' That's all it says."

"It doesn't matter. If we were attacked because we found them, we were probably close to where Adam is," Anna stated. "I was calling you to tell you that possibility."

The thought was a good one, one she wanted to hold onto, but Susannah didn't dare set all her hopes on it. She couldn't do that to herself or the man she loved. "That may be, but how many were there?" she wondered. "A lot, right?"

Anna sighed as she reluctantly nodded. "Yeah... There were a lot."

"There has to be some way to narrow that down," Susannah muttered as she shut the notebook and put it back in her pocket, tapping her knee. "There are a lot of warehouses..."

"Well, Susannah, there is something."

Susannah and Anna glanced up, watching as Jay came back into the main part of the hotel room with Mike behind him, ice pack at his head. "What do you suggest?" she wondered.

Jay sighed, sitting on Susannah's other side. "I've put this off for as long as I can, but since Mike and Anna seemed to have found at least the proximity Adam is in, I don't think I can anymore," he told her. "We need to watch that video again. See if there's something defining about it that will lead us to the right warehouse."

"I'm not sure if I can do that, Jay..." Susannah began, hesitant to admit it.

But Jay smiled, reaching forward and wrapping his hand around hers tightly. "You don't have to," he assured her. "But hopefully, there will be some clue in that footage of Adam. There has to be now that we know more of what we're looking for. And the fact Mike and Anna were attacked in that area is a good thing."

Mike narrowed his eyes slightly in irritation. "_So _glad we can be of help," he mumbled.

Anna gave him a warning look before turning back to the other man. "And that's because...?" she began expectantly, waiting for Jay to finish.

Jay glanced at her, a confident look on his face. "It means we're getting close."

**Author's Note**: Things just keep getting worse for Edge, don't they? You have the man in charge here, but who he is is the question. Edge recognizes him... do you? Keep leaving your guesses! Thanks for reading and please review!


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! Good to see your guesses, and I hope you keep them up! There are definite clues in these next couple chapters as we make our way to finding out who's behind it, so keep an eye out for them! Enjoy!

_Chapter 12_

Phil sighed, keeping his eyes on the dark road ahead of him as his hand clenched tightly around the steering wheel. A lot was running through his mind as he drove, and though the light rainfall still continued in the night outside, he rolled down his window a little to get some fresh air while the music coming from the rock station surrounded him.

When he came to a stop at a red light, he pulled his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrating again, knowing he was getting another call. Phil's eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Jillian's name flashing on the screen, and after a moment, he put it back in his pocket without answering it. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead when the light turned green, driving through the intersection as he continued heading to where he needed to be. He glanced to his right, noticing the bright lights of a twenty-four hour pharmacy as he slowed down slightly, pulling into the parking lot.

* * *

Jillian sighed with frustration as she ended the call on her cell phone, putting it back in her pocket. She and Allie had just gotten back to the hotel after her sister had gotten the text about Mike and Anna, and they were sitting in the couple's room with Jay and Susannah. She turned back to the rest of the group with her, getting back into their conversation.

"So you really think we're getting closer to where Adam is?" Allie was asking her boyfriend.

Jay nodded. "That's what we're thinking," he answered. "As you know, a warehouse is mentioned in that notebook Susannah found, and Mike and Anna were attacked by some members of the gang when they found this line of them down by the canals." Susannah nodded in agreement.

"The only problem, though, is there were a lot of warehouses in that area," Anna muttered. "From what I could see, a good number of them were empty or shut down covered in like boards and stuff, but since we were attacked there, I'm sure he's somewhere in that area."

"And as we concluded last night, we can watch that video again to find any further clues to which warehouse that could possibly be," Jay added, his tone heavier. "I wish we didn't have to, but it'll probably save Adam, which is all I want. Chris has the camera, and we can ask him for it in the morning."

Allie turned to look back at her sister. "Wow, a lot happened when we were gone, huh?" she wondered.

Jillian slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Anna glanced over at her. "Everything okay, Jillian?"

"Yeah, sure," Jillian told her, sighing as she brushed some of her hair back from her face. "I've just been trying to get a hold of Phil since I'm sure he'd like to know what's been going on. But he won't answer. I keep getting his voicemail."

Susannah's eyes narrowed slightly. "Really? That's weird," she said. "Why don't we just go over to to his room?"

But Jillian shook her head slightly. "I don't think he's there," she replied. "I ran into him earlier, but he was in a hurry to leave. He had gotten a phone call or something, and he said he had somewhere to be. That's all I know."

"And he didn't say where he was going?" Jay pressed, thinking the behavior was a bit odd.

"No..."

Allie turned to Jay, leaning close to him. "I'll talk to you more about this later, but Jillian and I were discussing this in the car," murmuring so only he would hear her. "We think someone... well, with us may be behind what happened to Adam."

Anger crossed Jay's face at the thought that someone he trusted would have something to do with the torture of his best friend. "Allie, I don't..."

"I know, I don't like it either," Allie interrupted him, sorrow on her face as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "But just think about it. A lot of things make sense."

Jay sighed as he lowered his gaze, thinking over what she said. If one of their friends really was behind what was happening, he knew his girlfriend was right that a lot of things would make sense. It would explain how the gang knew when to call them when they got the ominous message on the wall of their room, and how they had found their room to begin with. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility that one of the people in that room could possibly have planned Adam's taking.

"What are you guys talking about?" Mike asked, noticing the matching grim expressions on Jay and Allie's faces.

Sighing again, Jay met Mike's gaze. He felt Allie grab his hand as he cleared his throat. "Uh, well, a theory's been brought up that someone we know may be behind what's happening to Adam," he answered hesitantly.

Horror crossed Susannah's face. "Jay, you really can't believe that..." she began.

Jay turned to look at the girl he considered to be his sister, a pain in his heart when he knew the situation had just become more difficult for her. "I'm sorry, Susannah," he muttered. "I wish I didn't. But think about it. If someone close to us was keeping their eye on us, they could tell our every move to the gang. Which could explain how they knew where our room was and when to call us when we got that message."

Susannah stared at Jay for a long moment, thinking over what he said and reluctantly admitting he was right. Then, she remembered how Phil had been walking away from their room before they discovered the warning, how he had his theories about Adam, how Jillian couldn't reach him now...

"You... you don't think... Phil could know anything... do you?" Susannah wondered.

"No. Phil doesn't have anything to do with this," Jillian said, her tone firm.

Mike looked back at her. "How can you say that for sure, Jillian? It could be any one of us," he replied.

Jillian met his gaze. "Because... Phil couldn't do that," she told him. "He can't."

Getting frustrated, Mike slowly got to his feet. "Okay, since you're defending him, where is he now?"

After a moment, Jillian got to her feet as well to face him. "I don't know," she muttered.

Mike nodded slightly. "That's right. You don't know," he repeated. "And why is that? Maybe because he won't answer his phone. Gee, I wonder where he is where he couldn't do that. Checking on Adam perhaps? Or maybe hanging out around the warehouses waiting to attack anyone who gets too close!"

"You can't prove that!" Jillian snapped, her anger growing. "You can't possibly prove he was one of the people who attacked you. Didn't you say they were wearing some sort of mask?"

"Jillian, Mike, calm down," Jay muttered, tightening his arm around Allie when he felt the tension between them only growing.

Mike shrugged. "Our attackers had black hair," he pointed out.

"So? As we saw, most of the gang members have black hair," Jillian countered.

"Well, then he'd fit right in, wouldn't he?"

"Come on, Jillian, stop it," Allie said, hoping her older sister would listen. "This is ridiculous."

"Mike, you too," Anna added. "We need to work together." Susannah sat silently on the bed, trying to ignore their steadily raising voices.

Jillian rolled her eyes as both she and Mike ignored what the others were saying. "Hair color doesn't mean anything, Mike!" she told him. "Besides, he's just as concerned about Adam as the rest of us are."

"He acts for a living, Jillian," Mike reminded her, his anger starting to slip through in his tone. "He hasn't known Adam for as long as say Jay or Chris and isn't as close to him as them or Susannah and Allie. It would be easier for him than any of them to plan for Adam to be tortured and act like he's concerned and wants to save him."

"Well, you also just left the door wide open for yourself to be guilty too," Jillian said. "You didn't include yourself. Could you do that, Mike? Could you live with yourself knowing you were doing that to someone who you call a friend?"

Mike's eyes narrowed as fury crossed his face. "Would I _really_ have myself and my _girlfriend_ attacked if I was the one behind this?"

"Maybe it was a-!"

"All right, that's enough!" Jay suddenly shouted, getting to his feet as well. Mike and Jillian instantly stopped their arguing while Susannah and Anna jumped at the unexpected anger, Allie staring at her boyfriend in shock. "To put things back into perspective since you seemed to have_ lost_ it, my best friend is out there possibly _dying _right now while you two are sitting here yelling at each other and getting nowhere! Time is working against us, or have you forgotten that too?"

Mike and Jillian exchanged sheepish looks, neither one able to look the other man in the eye. Jay took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a minute, further calmed when he felt Allie slowly approach wrap her arms around him from behind.

"All right. Now," Jay continued, his tone more under control as he put one arm around his girlfriend. "Never once did I say Phil is behind this." He looked at Mike. "And never once did I say Mike is behind this." He moved his gaze to Jillian. "But I just wanted to give everyone a head's up as to what could possibly be happening here. I don't even know for sure if one of us is behind this. But Anna is right. We have to stay together if we want Adam out of there alive. If we're fighting each other, we can't do that."

Jillian glanced back at Mike. "Sorry," she muttered. Mike nodded in agreement.

Jay sighed, putting his hand to his head as he closed his eyes again. "Okay, good enough," he said. "Now, everyone just try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we need to look at that video again and see what we can get out of it. Good night."

"Good night," Anna replied quietly as Susannah got off the bed and followed Jay, Allie, and Jillian out into the hallway, the door closing behind them.

* * *

_Adam stood in the shade of a large, beautiful oak tree, a few colored leaves falling around him. He noticed he was dressed up in a tuxedo, but he wasn't sure what he was doing there. He just wished he could get the pounding in his head to stop._

_"Hey, Man, don't tell me you're nervous. You haven't said a word."_

_Recognizing the voice of his best friend, Adam quickly looked up and saw Jay was standing next to him, wearing a similar tuxedo and giving him a huge smile. "What would I have to be nervous about?" he wondered._

_"That's what I was saying," Jay replied. "But then again, it's only the most important day of your and Susannah's lives together."_

_Adam narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked around due to the light from the setting sun filtering through the trees, seeing there were only a few people there besides him and Jay sitting in a few folding chairs that had been set up. Allie, Jillian, and Josh Reso, Jay's older brother, were sitting in three of the chairs, all talking excitedly and laughing. They were all also dressed up, Allie and Jillian both wearing light purple dresses and Josh wearing a matching tuxedo to his brother._

_Looking around some more, he noticed a light blue arch had been set up behind the chairs, a few rose vines intertwined in it, and a path of rose petals led from the arch up to where he and Jay were standing. Everything was beautiful._

_"You all right, Adam?" Jay suddenly asked. "It's not like you to be this quiet."_

_Adam sighed quietly, about to tell his best friend about his headache when Josh came up to them. "Hey!" he said cheerfully, putting an arm around Adam's shoulders. "You and Susannah did a great job planning this. Nice, quiet little set up in a beautiful area with only a couple close friends, which I'm glad to be a part of, by the way..."_

_"Well, yeah, you're like family," Adam replied with a slight smile, knowing he would have invited Josh to any event. He just wanted to know where Susannah was since by what he had said, she had planned this out too. "But I don't-!"_

_Before he could say anything more, he stopped when the song "Patience" by Guns N' Roses started quietly playing from the speaker on the arch. "I'm gonna sit back down," Josh muttered. "But I will be back up here in a few when I need to be." Then, he turned and hurried back to his seat next to the two sisters, giving both Adam and Jay a double thumbs up sign._

_"Here we go," Jay whispered, a smile spreading across his face._

_Adam glanced at him before watching as a man wearing a tuxedo holding what appeared to be a Bible in his hands walked down the path of rose petals and stood next to him. He pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose, smiling and giving him a slight nod before he turned his attention back to the arch. Adam looked up again too, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Chris Irvine walking toward him with a smile on his face, also wearing a tuxedo._

_On his arm was Susannah, carrying a bouquet of assorted flowers in her white gloved hands. She was wearing a long white dress that flowed down to her ankles, a pair of short white heels to match. Her brown hair fell in loose waves down to her shoulders, held back from her face by a couple silver clips. A thin, translucent white veil went down her back, a rose clipped to it on the side of her head._

_It was at that moment Adam knew exactly what was going on. He and Susannah were getting married._

_When Chris and Susannah reached where Josh was sitting, he smirked up at her and whistled. Susannah stopped, and Chris laughed when she took part of her dress and hit the older Reso in the face with it._

_"Can you really blame him?" Chris asked with a smirk of his own while Allie and Jillian also laughed._

_Susannah shrugged. "Guess not," she answered, giving Josh a fake scowl when he winked at her. "But still! Jerk." Josh just laughed._

_Jay chuckled a little to himself as Chris and Susannah approached. Chris smiled as he took Susannah's hand and placed it in Adam's, looking at the couple for a moment before he sat in the empty seat next to Josh, Allie, and Jillian. Susannah looked up at Adam, wrapping her fingers around his as she laughed a little when she saw the surprise on his face._

_"What?" she asked quietly, the smile lingering on her face._

_"You look beautiful," Adam answered with a slight laugh of his own. "I just... I guess that's all I can say. There aren't any more words to describe it."_

_Susannah glanced down for a second when she heard the compliment, her smile broadening when she met his gaze again. Adam returned it, and when he looked closer, he saw the necklace he had given her with thin intertwining hearts was around her neck._

_"Should we get started?" the man who had joined them first asked, opening the Bible to a marked page._

_"Yeah," Susannah answered, taking a couple steps back so she was standing on the other side of him. But she still didn't release her hold on Adam's hand._

_As the man started to read the passage to start the ceremony, Adam found he couldn't move his eyes from Susannah's. He repeated what he needed to when he was prompted, his soon to be wife doing the same, but he was completely held by her gaze, which wasn't moving from his eyes either. The pounding in his head had lessened considerably since she arrived, but he could feel it steadily starting to return._

_"Present the rings," the speaker finally said._

_"That's my cue," Josh muttered, getting to his feet as he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket._

_Adam finally looked away from Susannah as she did, watching as Josh stopped next to them and pulled a box out of his pocket. Jay smirked, quickly slapping him upside the head when the speaker looked away for a moment, and Josh glared at him while Adam and Susannah quietly laughed. But then, they all became serious again when the man cleared his throat._

_"The rings," he repeated._

_"Right..." Josh smiled at him, handing them both to the man before sitting back down. A broad grin appeared on his face when he saw Allie, Jillian, and Chris were trying to contain their laughter. Adam's smile slowly vanished when the man handed him the silver ring he was supposed to give to Susannah._

_"Repeat after me as you put the ring on her finger."_

_Adam turned his complete attention back to Susannah, looking into her eyes as he repeated what the man read to him, tightening his hold slightly on her hand before slipping the ring onto her finger once he was through. Then, Susannah was handed the ring she was supposed to give to Adam, and she also repeated what she was told before putting the ring on his finger._

_The man paused for a moment, a small smile appearing on his face when he looked at Adam and Susannah as they simply stared into each other's eyes. "As the vein in the ring finger connects directly to the heart, so shall..."_

_Adam felt a small smile appear at the corner of his mouth when he saw the thin line of tears that had formed in Susannah's eyes as she looked up at him. He squeezed her hand, not only in response to her, but also to try to calm his rising fear. He knew in a few short moments they would be officially married, but he couldn't stop the sudden bad feeling as the pain in his head flared so that it felt as though it was on fire. He wished the man would go a little faster, just so he knew Susannah was his._

_Then, he found himself saying two simple words. "I do." Susannah did the same shortly after, and though he couldn't quite hear what the speaker had said, he knew it was over. Adam pulled Susannah closer, hearing the muffled applause of his closest friends around him as he met her lips in a passionate kiss, and though she initially seemed surprised by his intensity, she placed her hand on his cheek as she returned it. A single tear fell from his own eye as he held her tightly, almost afraid to let her go._

* * *

The man lowered his hood as he entered the warehouse for the second time that night, holding a bag of materials he had gotten from a pharmacy. His earlier conversation with the leader of the gang was still stuck in his mind, remembering how he had claimed he was only following the plan he had been given. But the man knew it wasn't as simple as that. As he had told him, his plan hadn't been to kill Adam.

At least, that's what he had thought. The man walked down the dark, narrow hallway that led to their captive's room, slowing to a stop in front of the door. He had seen how bad Adam's condition was due to the torture the gang had already put him through, knowing they had just gone a bit too far without thinking of the consequences. That was all. Surely he hadn't meant for the other man to get this way.

But when he opened the door, the man stopped when his gaze landed on Adam, not looking any different from when he had seen him not long before. He slowly walked across the room to where he was lying, kneeling down next to him. The fevered man was still supposed to be his friend. Even though he had been the one to set the plan in place, he knew at that moment his intent had never been to kill him.

The man then lowered the blanket Adam was under a little before reaching into the bag and pulling out some disinfectants he had picked up. He wished he had some hot water to help clean the injuries more thoroughly, but this would have to do for now. He opened the first box before taking out one of the few cloths he had bought. He put some of the disinfectant on it and turned to Adam, hesitating since he knew this was going to hurt him. But he knew it had to be done if he wanted to help him. Taking a deep breath, the man slowly reached forward and placed the cloth on his back since that was cut up worse.

Just as he had suspected, Adam's entire body tensed as he whimpered quietly in pain, trying to turn a little to get away from the added pain. But the man kept a firm hold on his shoulder to keep him in place, spreading the disinfectant to the rest of his back.

"Hold on, Adam," he muttered. "It'll help."

The man held the cloth on his back for a few more minutes despite Adam unconsciously trying to push him away. Then, he removed the cloth once the disinfectant had been rubbed in well enough, refolding it before putting more on. But this time, he set the cloth on his chest to take care of the cuts from the acid darts.

Adam's reaction was the same, his body tensing up as a quiet groan of pain escaped from his throat. He tried moving back away from him this time, but once again, the man held him in place. Once the disinfectant was rubbed in enough again, he removed the cloth and set it aside, watching as Adam, his eyes shut tightly, curled in on himself a little as he pulled the blanket closer. He hadn't really woken up, which the man was thankful for.

But then, his eyes narrowed slightly when he caught a glimpse of something silver in Adam's hand. It was Susannah's flower-patterned, diamond engagement ring. The man tensed slightly, knowing it had been lost, and he wondered if the gang had given it to their captive.

A moment passed where he didn't move, his eyes only on the ring in the fevered man's hand. Then, after making up his mind, he slowly reached forward and took it from his loose grasp, holding it in his palm for a moment before slipping it in his own pocket.

* * *

_"If you just think, my dear, you would understand why we had to do this. It's really not all that difficult..."_

Susannah sighed heavily as she looked out at the dark, cloud-filled night from where she sat in the chair next to the window, her fingers absently running over the cool metal of the silver, intertwined hearts necklace Adam had given her. The sound of the television in the background was the only source of noise in the dark room, and she assumed Jay and Allie had fallen asleep since she could no longer hear their quiet murmurings.

But she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Not with what the leader of the gang who had taken her fiance had told her when he called earlier.

A thin line of tears formed in her eyes, the words still echoing loudly in her mind. The reason Adam was taken wasn't that difficult to figure out, and if she thought about it, she would understand. That's what he said. But Susannah felt a slight twinge of pain in her heart, knowing she didn't understand why Adam was now being tortured.

She quickly wiped away a stray tear when it fell from her eye, not able to quell the guilt raging inside her. The comment from the gang leader had been directed toward her, and though she knew better, she couldn't help but feel that a lot of the pain Adam was going through was her fault since she didn't know why he had been taken. She knew she couldn't blame herself for what was happening, knew Adam wouldn't want her to think that way, but she couldn't stop the thought.

After all, how could she not feel guilty when she couldn't figure out possibly the only clue to saving the man she loved?

"Adam..." Susannah whispered, tears falling a bit more freely from her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."

* * *

Jay slowly opened his eyes, seeing Allie was still asleep next to him as he smiled and softly kissed her head. It had taken him a while to fall asleep since he and his girlfriend had been talking about how everything had changed now that there was a possibility someone close to them was behind what was happening to Adam, something neither one of them wanted to believe. He then raised his head a little to look at the couch to check on Susannah, but panic coursed through him when he saw she wasn't there. After she had taken off without warning last time...

He carefully sat up on the bed, hoping not to wake his girlfriend, and looked around the room. Something caught his eye in one of the chairs by the window in the light coming from the television, and he got up and quietly crossed the room.

Susannah was sitting curled up in the chair, her hand wrapped loosely around the necklace Adam had given her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing light and even. Jay smiled slightly, relieved she was at least getting a little sleep. She hadn't gotten much since Adam had been taken, and it was something she needed.

But knowing it wasn't the most comfortable to sleep in the chair, Jay carefully wrapped one arm behind her back and the other under her knees as he lifted her up in his arms. He stopped for a minute when Susannah took a deep breath, but then she rested her head on his shoulder and continued sleeping. Glad she hadn't woken up, Jay walked over to the couch and gently set her down on her pillow.

"...Adam..."

Jay paused when he heard her quiet voice, looking at the girl he considered to be his sister. Some distress had crossed her face, and he knew she must have been dreaming about his best friend.

"We'll find him, Susannah," he whispered, placing his hand lightly on her head. "It'll be okay. We'll get Adam. We're close now."

A moment passed, and Susannah's expression once again turned somewhat peaceful. A small smile appeared on Jay's face as he covered her up with the blanket, ruffling her hair slightly.

"Get as much sleep as you can," he told her, unsure if she could hear him or not.

Jay stayed standing next to the couch for a little bit longer, making sure Susannah would stay asleep, before walking back to the bed, sighing as he laid down. He stared up at the ceiling, rubbing his tired eyes. He hoped he'd be able to go back to sleep, but he wasn't sure how much he would get either. It was the times he was alone and awake when his worry for Adam really surfaced. He had no idea what his best friend was going through at that very moment, and it scared him. But it also made him angry since there wasn't anything he could do for the other man.

Then, he glanced over at Allie when she scooted closer to him in her sleep, resting her head on his chest. Jay wrapped his arm around her and held her close, sighing again as he placed his head against hers and closed his eyes. He listened to his girlfriend's quiet breathing, and that along with having her so close finally lulled him into a light sleep.

* * *

_Adam leaned back against the hard, cold wall, struggling to keep his eyes open in the dim room. His back and chest were flaring with pain, his head feeling heavy and hot with fever, and all he wanted to do was to sleep and escape from the pain. But it was that same pain that was preventing him from surrendering to that sleep._

_He heard the door to the room open, sounding so distant, but he paid no attention to it. Adam knew that whatever they were coming in the room to do to him wasn't going to be pleasant, so he would prefer to be as oblivious as possible to the pain that had to be coming._

_"Let go of me!"_

_Adam gasped as his eyes snapped open, quickly sitting up as his heart nearly stopped at the unexpected, familiar voice. His eyes widened with horror when he saw the long-haired man who appeared to be in charge of the gang and this girlfriend had entered the room, holding a struggling Susannah between them._

_"Look who we found sneaking around outside," the woman muttered, a cruel smile twisting her features as she placed her hand on Susannah's cheek. She seemed amused when she pulled her head away from her grasp. "So sweet of her to come. She must really love you..."_

_"Leave her alone!" Adam said anxiously, starting to push himself to his feet but having to lean against the wall for support. "Please... Don't hurt her."_

_"Well... can't promise that," the man replied. "We can't have her ruining what we've set up. The rest of our guys are searching the area for any more of your friends."_

_Susannah tried to struggle out of the man's hold, whimpering with fear when he leaned toward her so his face was inches from hers. Adam's eyes narrowed angrily as he glared at them. "Stop!" he shouted, taking a couple steps closer. "Do whatever you want to me, but leave her out of this. Please!"_

_"An example needs to be set," the woman told him, her face blank. She nodded to the man, who started to drag Susannah back toward the door of the room._

_"No!" Adam watched as Susannah tried to escape from the man's strong hands with no success, trying to get his legs to work so he could hurry after her. But for some reason, he couldn't._

_Susannah looked over her shoulder at him, fear clearly on her face. "Adam!" she said, reaching a hand out toward him before she was brought back into the hallway, the woman smirking as she followed after them._

_As soon as the door closed behind the trio, Adam felt that he was finally able to move. He ran over to the door, pounding on it a couple times before trying the door handle, though he knew it wouldn't work. "Susannah! Can you hear me? Susannah!" He sighed with worry when he heard no response from the other side._

_Then, a glint of silver from the floor caught his eye, and he quickly looked down. His eyes narrowed slightly as he dropped to one knee on the ground, picking up a silver necklace with two thin, intertwined hearts. It had been his last anniversary gift to his girlfriend._

_"I told you not to come," Adam whispered, running his finger lightly over the cool metal. "Why couldn't you just listen?"_

_Suddenly, Adam gasped when he heard a familiar pained scream from the other side of the door, knowing it belonged to the girl he loved. "Susannah!" he cried, getting back to his feet and starting to frantically claw at the door to find some way to open it. "Susannah!" His fingers soon got so raw from scratching at the rough surface that the tips began to bleed, the few drops of blood covering one of the silver hearts on the necklace. But he didn't care. His girlfriend's screams from the other side where driving him to find some way to get to her._

_"Susannah!" Her screams seemed to be getting louder, making him try harder to get the door open since he didn't know what they were doing to her. _

_But then, Adam felt his own cry escape from him when the pain in his head intensified, and he turned away from the door for a moment as he grabbed his head. He dropped to his knees, the room around him spinning. But he tried to fight off the threatening darkness as he reached for the door again, Susannah's screams sounding much more distant than they had before as his fingers lightly brushed over the surface. Hot tears formed in his eyes, not only from his own pain, but also because of his helplessness._

_Susannah, the girl he loved more than his own life, was in danger, and there was nothing he could do._

* * *

"... Susannah..."

The man wrung out another cloth he had just wet in cold water from one of the bottles he had bought, pausing for a moment when he heard the sudden, nearly silent voice. He looked down at Adam, seeing his closed eyes were narrowed slightly in distress as he slept.

"... Susannah..."

Sighing when he heard her name a second time, the man set the damp, cool cloth on Adam's burning forehead. He must have been dreaming about her. Then, he picked up one of the ice packs he had brought and wrapped it in another cloth, lightly placing it on his neck to try to help bring his body temperature back down to a normal level. He had tended to the injuries he had already sustained by helping to fight the infections, but now, the other concern was his high fever. As he had told the gang leader, he couldn't die yet.

A quiet groan escaped from Adam's throat, and his eyes slowly fluttered open. The man tensed when his weary gaze moved to him for a moment, but then he sighed with relief when the other man's eyes closed again right away. That had been close.

Making sure the cold cloth and ice were in place, the man leaned back against the wall. He was going to stay with Adam through the night to make sure his condition didn't get worse and to try to get the fever that had set in to break. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing again.

It was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note**: Poor Edge, lol. Spot any clues as to the identity of the man in charge? Let me know! We're only a couple chapters away from finding out. Thanks for reading! Please review and leave your guesses!


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for your reviews! There are many clues in this chapter, so keep an eye out for them! But I also just want to take a moment to say I dedicate this chapter to Edge, who as you all know was forced into an early retirement. I appreciate everything he did for the company and will miss seeing him in the ring. So, with that, enjoy the chapter!

_Chapter 13_

The man stifled a yawn as he removed the damp cloth from Adam's forehead. He had stepped outside the warehouse a few times in between rewetting the cloth to combat the other man's fever throughout the night, and he was just relieved he had made it until morning with how high his temperature had been. He placed his hand on Adam's cheek, which was no longer as flushed as it had been, feeling the fever had been brought down quite a bit. He was going to be all right.

Rubbing his tired eyes, the man wet the cloth again and placed it on the other's forehead for what he assumed would be the last time. He then took the ice pack away from his neck, seeing it had considerably melted, and put it back in the bag of other unneeded materials. He sighed, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. He knew what he had been doing when he made the plan to take and torture Adam, but never had he thought it would go this far. But for some reason, especially now that he knew the gang's captive was going to be okay, he wasn't bothered by the fact that it had.

He heard some shifting in front of him, and the man slowly opened his eyes and watched as Adam pulled the blanket a little closer to him, a bit more peaceful expression appearing on his face. The cool cloth was doing its job and providing at least some relief from the fever. Adam was still asleep, but the man didn't know if he was dreaming anymore. For most the night, the fevered man had been murmuring in his sleep, and he assumed most of the dreams had been about Susannah since her name was the most common thing he had said. It was hard for him to hear, especially since it was because of him they were separated.

But was that really the reason it was so hard? The man felt anger boil in him again as he thought about how it had almost sounded as though Adam had been calling out to her, wondering if it was the thoughts of her that had kept him going through the night. If so, he didn't understand that closeness. Regardless, their captive now seemed to be resting better, probably since the fever wasn't raging as fiercely inside him.

A smirk then spread across his face as an idea came to him. "You want to know why this is happening, Adam?" the man asked in a whisper, knowing he probably couldn't hear him as he reached into his jacket pocket. "Want to know who's behind this? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. It's me."

Adam didn't respond to what he was saying, which the man expected. His smirk broadened when he pulled a pocketknife out of his jacket pocket, the thin blade catching the dim light in the room. He checked in the bag next to him from the pharmacy, pulling out a roll of bandage and the disinfectant and setting them next to him before turning his attention back to the other man. He reached forward and took his right arm, his gaze moving over the tattoo on his forearm before turning it over.

"I'll leave you a little clue, don't worry," he continued, a gleam appearing in his eyes as he looked at the pocketknife in his hand. "A little something for you when you wake up. It won't hurt too bad." Then, he slowly moved the blade closer to the other man's arm.

Adam winced when the knife blade cut slightly into his skin, but he didn't wake up. The man looked into his face carefully as he paused for a minute, but when he didn't see any other reaction, he proceeded to carve something short into his arm. As soon as he was done with the last letter, he wiped off the small amount of blood on the tip of the blade on the blanket before setting the knife on the floor next to him. He put some of the disinfectant he had used on his other injuries on the fresh cuts on Adam's arm before wrapping some of the bandage around it, using the knife to cut it off from the roll. He made sure it was tied securely before setting his arm carefully back down.

"At least now maybe you'll understand why this all had to be done, Adam," the man muttered, looking down at him to make sure he would stay asleep. "Maybe you'll understand..."

The man then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time, realizing he should probably head back to the hotel. The rest of the group would be up soon if they weren't already, and he didn't want to be missed too much. He looked down at Adam, making sure he wasn't waking up, and quietly got to his feet before grabbing the bag and crossing the room to the door. He stepped out into the hallway, carefully shutting the door behind him before walking to the vast room where he saw the leader of the gang and his girlfriend were waiting for him.

"Is he going to be okay?" the woman asked as the man who had given them the plan stopped near them.

"He'll be fine," the man answered with a slight nod. "The fever has come down considerably. I'm sure it'll break soon. Just keep a close eye on him." His gaze landed on the long-haired gang leader. "And be careful from now on. We need him alive."

The long-haired man sighed as he looked down, pulling his hand away when his girlfriend tried taking it. The man in charge looked at them for a moment longer before he sighed, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small knife he had just used.

"Here. You hold onto this," he said, holding it out to the dark-haired woman. "I'm sure you'll find some use for it."

The woman looked at it for a moment before carefully taking the pocketknife from his hand, putting it in her jacket pocket. "Thank you," she replied.

"No problem." The man looked at the two gang members for another moment. "I'm heading back now. We'll keep in touch. I think they're close to piecing together enough clues to find Adam, so I need you to be ready."

"We will be," the long-haired leader muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly at him.

The man smirked as he looked back at him. "I'm counting on it," he told him. Then, he turned and made his way across the rest of the vast room, stepping out into the garage as the door slammed behind him.

* * *

Susannah's eyes quickly snapped open, and she took a deep breath when she saw she was laying on the couch again. She must have fallen asleep since she didn't remember how she had gotten there, and the only dream she could remember had been unsettling. She had woken up alone back home, Adam nowhere to be seen as she simply waited for him. But in that dream, she had a feeling the man she loved wouldn't be coming back.

Then, she looked up when she felt a shadow fall over her, a smile appearing on her face. "Hey, Jay," she mumbled, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Hey," Jay said, a matching smile appearing on his face. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay," Susannah replied as she sat up with a yawn. "Not very restful, but at least I got a little."

Jay nodded. "And you needed it," he told her, sitting down next to her. "Allie and I are going to get some breakfast in a little bit. Hopefully it'll help us concentrate for... what we have to do today. Want to come with us? Food is also something you haven't been getting very much of."

Susannah laughed a little, but she shook her head. She had noticed his slight hesitance, knowing he was talking about the video. "No thank you," she muttered. "I usually don't eat in the morning anyway, and I'm really not hungry."

"I know you usually don't, but I just thought I'd ask." Jay wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close into a one-armed hug, quickly kissing the top of her head. "You're worrying me a little, that's all."

"Don't be too worried, Jay." Susannah smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "I'll be fine. I do eat a little here and there. I'm getting by."

Jay met her gaze, smiling again as he ruffled her hair. "As soon as this is all over, I'm taking you out to a buffet," he said.

Susannah laughed as Jay got to his feet, trying to straighten out her hair again. "Thanks for your concern, Jay," she replied quietly.

Sighing as he looked at the girl he considered to be his sister, Jay placed his hand on her shoulder for a minute. But before he could say anything else, Allie came out of the bathroom and walked over to where her bag was sitting on the end of the bed. "Are you coming with us, Susannah?" she asked.

"No," Susannah answered as she shook her head. "Thanks for the invite, but I think I'm just going to stay here."

Allie looked at her with concern. "Well, if you're sure..."

Susannah nodded. "I am. I'll be fine. I'm just not hungry."

"Okay." Allie pulled her sweatshirt on before walking over to the couch, giving Susannah a tight hug. The other girl held onto her for a long moment before they let go. "We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Have fun, you guys." Susannah watched as Jay pulled on his sweatshirt as well, grabbing the keys to the rental car. He then glanced back at her with concern when he began to walk with Allie toward the door.

"We won't be gone long," he repeated quietly.

Susannah gave him a smile. "Okay," she said. "Relax a bit so we can focus on what we need to do."

Jay returned the smile, but it was a sad one. "You too. Hopefully this will be over soon." Then, he followed his girlfriend out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

When they were gone, Susannah sighed as she got to her feet and pulled some fresh clothes out of her bag. She changed out of the tank top and shorts she wore for sleeping into a dark t-shirt and darker jeans without socks, pulling her hair back into a ponytail and keeping the intertwined hearts necklace around her neck. She put her pajamas back in her bag before sitting on Jay and Allie's bed, taking her Mac laptop out of its case. She leaned back against the headboard, signing into her account.

But she hesitated for a moment when she saw one of her favorite pictures of Adam on her background, one where he was lying on their bed at home surrounded by all of their dogs. It was a picture that usually brought a smile to her face, but now, it brought a thin line of tears to her eyes. She missed him so much.

Forcing them back, Susannah pulled up her iTunes library so she could have some sound in the room to give the television a rest, and she smiled slightly when she heard one of the songs off Chris' band, Fozzy's, new CD came on when she put it on shuffle. Her best friend had given her a signed copy when it first came out, and she had to admit it was one of her favorite albums. When she minimized the window, Susannah went into her documents menu and pulled up a folder containing the pictures she had of her and Adam from the past three years while they had been together, sighing as she opened it.

Before she could actually start looking through them, she looked up when she heard a quiet knock on the room door. Susannah got off the bed and crossed the room to open it, a smile appearing on her face when she saw who was on the other side. "Hey," she greeted. "Just thinking about you a little actually."

"Really?" Chris asked, a small smile appearing on his face as well when he heard his voice coming from her laptop. "Ah, okay. Mind if I come in for a bit?"

"Of course not. Come on in," Susannah answered, stepping aside so he could come into the room.

"Thanks." Chris walked past Susannah, glancing back at her when she shut the door behind him. "Just wanted to see how you were holding up. Saw Jay and Allie leaving and thought you'd like a little company."

Susannah turned back to him, a grateful glint in her eye. "I'm doing okay," she told him quietly. "Yeah, some company would be great. Thanks again, Chris."

Chris nodded with a smile, but then, his eyes narrowed slightly with concern. "You look tired. Didn't get much sleep last night?"

"No," Susannah replied as she sat on the bed. "Haven't been sleeping well really at all since... well, since Adam's been gone. Or eating for that matter. But Jay's been keeping me up on that somewhat."

"At least someone is," Chris muttered, sitting next to her. "You need to keep your rest and strength up if we want to figure this out. After what happened to Mike and Anna, we're clearly getting close."

Susannah sighed, running her hand through her hair. "I know that, Chris, but I really can't do much of either," she explained just as quietly. "I can only do as much as I can do. And with Adam in trouble..."

Chris nodded slightly. "I understand." He placed his hand on Susannah's back in a comforting manner. "You're just concerning me a little."

"Jay said the same thing." Susannah chuckled quietly. "Besides, you don't look like you've been sleeping much yourself."

"Don't worry about me," Chris said, with a small smile. "But no, I haven't. Not recently. I've just been thinking a lot about what happened. Adam's a good friend of mine, you know? A talented wrestler and a good man. I have a lot of respect for him. He shouldn't deserve this."

Susannah glanced over at him, detecting the thoughtful tone to his voice. "You're right," she muttered in agreement. "He doesn't deserve this."

Chris met her gaze for a moment before looking at her laptop screen. "What are you looking at?"

"Well, I was just going to look at some pictures." Susannah looked back at the screen as well. "Glad you're here. I probably shouldn't be alone doing this." When Chris didn't say anything else in response, she sighed as she clicked on one of the files. A picture of her and Adam with their arms wrapped around each other and wearing matching smiles on their faces appeared on the screen. A shimmering lake was behind them, catching the light from the bright sun. She pulled up a second picture, which was almost like the first since they were in the same setting, but in this one, Adam had crossed his arms and was giving her a fake scowl as she kissed his cheek and took the sunglasses from his eyes.

"These were taken when Adam and Jay came to visit as they passed through to get to their next show in our first year together," Susannah told him, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes as she looked at both pictures. "Feels so long ago now..."

Chris glanced at her as she pulled up another picture of the couple sitting on some rocks by the lake, able to tell it was taken the same day. He was silent as she continued to go through the memories she shared with Adam and told the story of each one, ranging from dates they had been on, places they had visited, and fun, often random times they had together.

"We were so frustrated at Jay when he first took this one," Susannah said with a slight laugh, pulling up a picture of her wrapped in Adam's arms with her head on his shoulder and his head resting against hers in the back seat of a car, both of them asleep and oblivious to the camera. "We were on the road a while and were exhausted. But now it's one of my favorites..."

"You guys really are good for each other," Chris muttered thoughtfully, looking closely at the pictures. "You look so happy together."

"We were..." Susannah paused for a minute, forcing her tears back. "You know, Adam is the one man I've been with who understands me. Not many people can relate to my creative side. But he's enough like me in that respect to actually get it. There's that understanding. And ever since we made it past our first year together, I knew we could make it. Since then, I wondered what it would be like to get married and all that. I often dreamed about it."

When she didn't say anything more, Chris looked at her expectantly. "And?" he prompted.

A small smile appeared on Susannah's face, though a thin line of tears shone in her eyes. "I want a simple wedding," she continued. "Not a huge deal, you know? Maybe somewhere a bit more romantic... like the beach or something with just our friends and family. The reception wouldn't have to be a big deal either. At our house would be nice. Again, just with our friends and family. I haven't told Adam any of this, of course, but... it's my own little fantasy.

"And when it happened a few days ago, when he actually proposed..." Susannah's sentence trailed off slightly, forcing back her tears. "I was the happiest I've been in my whole life. I thought maybe everything I dreamed about could actually happen..." She paused again before continuing. "You're my best friend. I would have loved it if you were the one to give me away. Not having my dad and all..."

"I still could," Chris told her quietly.

Susannah met his gaze. "Would you?" she wondered.

"Yes, of course," Chris told her. "I'd love to."

Despite herself, Susannah smiled slightly as she nodded, though the tears still lingered in her eyes. "I... I'd like that," she muttered.

Noticing it was becoming increasingly more difficult for her to talk about everything on her mind, Chris wound an arm around Susannah to hopefully be a bit more supportive. She leaned a little closer to him as she went back to looking at a few more pictures, including some from a Halloween party, together with Adam's guitar, and kissing at midnight on New Year's Eve. But then, she took a deep breath as she suddenly shut her laptop, the room silent as the music that had been playing quietly was abruptly cut off. She leaned forward a little and set her elbows on her crossed legs, resting her chin in her hands as tears burned in her eyes.

Chris looked at her with concern, leaning forward a bit to look at her face better. "Are you all right?" he wondered, rubbing her back.

Susannah nodded, but before she could answer, she buried her face in her hands as the tears finally fell. "I miss him so much," she said in nearly a whisper as a quiet sob escaped from her.

Not knowing what else to do, Chris wrapped his arms around her and pulled Susannah closer to him, sighing as she rested her head on his chest as she tried to stop her tears. He placed his chin on top of her head, trying to comfort her. "I know," he replied, keeping a tight hold on her. "It's hard."

"I just want... I just want him back, Chris," Susannah continued, wiping her tears from her eyes. She was grateful to have her friend so close. "We are going to find him soon... right?"

Chris ran his hand lightly up and down her arm. "Well, we are getting close," he told her quietly. "Everything's being done that can be done. But..."

Hearing his sentence trail off, Susannah slowly looked up at Chris. "But what?" she asked nervously.

Sighing, Chris brushed some loose hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of Susannah's face. "I don't know," he answered, his tone hesitant. "But I've been thinking about this a lot, and... and what if Adam isn't the same when we find him?"

Susannah looked at Chris with confusion, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What... what do you mean?"

Chris met her gaze. "I mean we have a basic idea of what's been happening," he explained. "You talked to him through a phone call, you've seen the video, and we have no idea what else Adam has been put through. Experiencing all of that is bound to have it's negative consequences. I'm just saying, Adam may not be the same as when you last saw him."

"No... no." Susannah got to her feet and walked away from the bed, stopping near the window as she looked out at the city. Her fingers unconsciously moved to her silver necklace as more tears formed in her eyes. "He's strong, Chris. He'll... he'll still be in there when we find him. He'll be in there. He'll still be my Adam..."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Chris muttered, looking at her sadly. He slowly stood up and approached Susannah, winding his arm around her. She initially flinched at his touch, but her body relaxed as she leaned into him. "Tell you what. Why don't we head down to the cafe and get something to drink?"

Susannah took a deep breath to calm herself down, waiting for a moment before she nodded. "Okay, Chris. That sounds good," she said. "Just... just give me a few minutes..."

Chris nodded too, giving her a small smile as he met her gaze. "Of course," he replied. "I'll grab my wallet, and I'll meet you in the lobby, okay?"

"Okay," Susannah agreed quietly.

"That a girl." Chris gently wiped the tears that stained Susannah's cheeks away with his thumb before walking toward the door, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he glanced down at it. She watched as he stepped out into the hallway, and when the door closed behind him, she let out the breath she had been holding as she weakly sank into a chair by the window. She took a few calming breaths, willing the tears that threatened to rise up to her eyes to stay back.

"Please, Adam, hang in there..."

* * *

_Adam made his way backstage after his match for the World Heavyweight Championship, rolling his neck a bit to stretch out his muscles as the crowd's cheering echoed behind him. Though he had lost the match at Wrestlemania, he still felt he and Chris had brought it all with their match, giving the crowd in attendance and at home something to enjoy as well as giving both of them something to be proud of. And spearing Chris off the announce table was a bonus for him as well as his fans._

_Then, a smile appeared on his face when he saw a familiar face coming toward him, wrapping his girlfriend tightly in his arms when she jumped up and wound her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "So, how does it feel to be back at the grandest stage, love?" she asked, a broad smile on her face as well._

_"Amazing," Adam answered quietly, meeting her lips in a soft, loving kiss. "There are so many people... the energy is just incredible."_

_Susannah nodded, laughing a little as she pushed some hair back from his face. "They loved that last spear," she muttered._

_Adam quickly raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah," he agreed with a quiet laugh. "Hell, I enjoyed that last spear. And yeah, it's a loss, but Chris only beat me by cheating."_

_"In my book, that doesn't count." Susannah smirked slightly. "Plus you got the last laugh. That's what matters."_

_"I couldn't agree with you more, baby." Adam winked at her, closing the gap between them by giving her a deep kiss. As her lips moved along with his, her hand running over his toned shoulder, he realized he had never felt such a need to be with someone. He had known since the moment he first laid eyes on her she was the one he wanted, but he never knew just how much. He had talked to Jay not long before about the possibility of taking a chance and proposing to her, and he knew that was just what he wanted. He wanted to have her for the rest of his life._

_Then, they broke the kiss when they heard footsteps approaching, and Susannah tightened her arms slightly around his neck as Adam carefully set her back on her feet. Chris approached them a minute later, and Susannah smiled as she gave him a hug as well._

_"Great match!" she said when they parted. "You guys both looked great out there."_

_"Thanks, Susannah," Chris replied with a smile. Then, he smirked, his gaze moving to the golden belt on his shoulder. "And I'm still the World Heavyweight Champion."_

_Adam smirked as well as he approached Susannah, bending over a little as he wrapped his arm around her legs and stood up as he put her over his shoulder. "Well, I have something better here," he countered, laughing a little as Susannah gasped and wrapped her ams around him from behind to keep her balance._

_"If you drop me, Adam Joseph Copeland, I swear..." she began to threaten._

_"I would never drop you," Adam told her teasingly._

_"Well, if you know what's good for you, you wouldn't," Susannah said, though she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face._

_Chris smiled with amusement as he watched the couple playfully bicker, sighing as he looked away. "Well, I'll let you guys go get a room or whatever you want to do," he told them with a slight laugh. "Nice job out there, Adam."_

_Adam smiled in return. "Thanks. You didn't do so bad yourself," he replied._

_"Not so bad at all," Chris agreed quietly, almost thoughtfully. "Anyway, I'll see you two at the after-party."_

_"Yep. Bye, Chris." Susannah watched as he left before looking over her shoulder to try to see her boyfriend. "So, uh, you gonna put me down?"_

_Adam glanced back at her, his eyes gleaming. "Nah, I think I'll just keep you up there," he muttered with a smirk, keeping a tight hold on her as he began to walk in the direction of his locker room. "After all, you are mine."_

* * *

_"No! You're not just trying to help him. You're showing compassion. That's an attribute of the weak. And that's exactly what you are. Weak. I suggest you start proving your worth and show where your loyalties lie."_

His words echoed in her mind as she sat next to the sleeping Adam, the fight she had gotten into with her boyfriend still in her thoughts. The woman sighed as she glanced over her shoulder at the gang member standing in the doorway watching her before she looked down at their captive, rubbing her wrist where the leader of the gang had roughly grabbed it. Even though the pain was still faintly there, she had a feeling it wasn't her he was truly mad at. He hadn't been himself since the man who had given them the original plan had come to take care of Adam and had admonished him for letting him get in such bad shape, and he had taken his frustrations out on her.

But he did have a point. Over the past couple days, she had shown their captive compassion. Now was the time to make her choice.

The woman then looked into Adam's face, watching as his eyes slowly opened as he looked around the room. She gave him a small smile when his exhausted green eyes landed on her, but it vanished when he sighed heavily and closed them again.

"Oh. It's you," he murmured.

"Who were you expecting?" the woman asked quietly, slightly caught off guard by his words.

A moment passed before Adam opened his eyes and turned to look at her again, taking the damp cloth off his forehead. "Someone I knew," he answered, his voice hardly audible. "I thought I heard... never mind. It was probably just a dream."

The woman sat stiffly on the hard, damp floor, knowing exactly who he was talking about. Their captive had heard the man who had given them the plan when he was there to take care of him. She watched as Adam's eyes narrowed in confusion when he saw the bandage wrapped around his right arm, but then the faint light lingering in them suddenly left. "What's wrong?"

Adam looked at his hands, defeat crossing his face. "Her ring... It's gone." He propped himself up on his arms as he looked at the floor around him to double check, but he knew he wouldn't find it.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." But the woman was surprised when Adam slowly shook his head.

"Don't be," he said weakly as he closed his eyes. "It's not like I'll see her again..."

The woman bit her bottom lip as she looked back at the other gang member who was in the doorway, who nodded to her. She turned back to Adam hesitantly, slowly starting to reach into her jacket pocket.

"It was at a hockey game."

"Excuse me?" The woman paused as she looked at Adam curiously, not having any idea what he was talking about.

Adam slowly turned to look at her. "You asked earlier how I met my girlfriend," he reminded her quietly, a thin line of tears forming in his eyes. "It was at a hockey game. She was there with her cousin. I saw them on the screen. It was at that moment I knew I had to have her."

She could hear the defeat in his voice as he closed his eyes again. From the few days he had been in captivity, she had learned Adam was a stubborn man, especially when it came to matters of his girlfriend. He had been adamant to keep the memory of how they met to himself before, and the fact he was telling her now could only mean one thing. He was giving up.

_"And that's exactly what you are. Weak."_

Though she did feel sympathy for Adam, her boyfriend's words and the eyes of the gang member on her motivated her, and the woman knew what she had to do. This was her chance to prove what side she was on, and she knew she had to make the right choice. She cried out with the inner frustration she was feeling, pulling something out of her jacket pocket. Adam slowly opened his eyes, not having time to react when the thin blade of a pocketknife sliced across his cheek, and he fell back to the hard floor.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this," the woman whispered to herself, putting the knife back into her pocket as she got to her feet. She watched for a moment as Adam felt the cut on his cheek with confusion before she cried out again and started bringing her heeled foot down as hard as she could on his upper body, ignoring when he wrapped his arms around him to protect himself as best as he could. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the gang member's approval, as she continued her assault.

"Stop!"

The woman heard the familiar voice, but she didn't listen until a pair of strong hands grabbed her arms and pulled her back away from Adam, leaving him curled up and gasping on the ground. She then looked up into the face of her boyfriend. "I'm just doing what you told me to do," she said, her breathing quick.

The long-haired leader smirked slightly before giving her a quick kiss. "I appreciate that, I really do. Glad to know you're with me," he replied, brushing some of her dark hair back from her face. "But I just got a phone call from him."

"What did we do wrong now?" the woman asked with concern.

"Nothing, my dear," her boyfriend answered, his eyes gleaming almost maliciously as he turned his gaze to Adam, who was watching them with fear. "There's just one more thing he wants us to do for him."

* * *

Jillian sighed as she left her hotel room, walking down the stairs toward the lobby. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before after her fight with Mike, the fear someone in their group may have been behind what happened to Adam weighing heavily on her mind. She couldn't bear to think of who would betray them, and no matter what Mike said, she was still convinced Phil was not the one who had the gang take one of her closest friends.

When she entered the lobby, Jillian watched as a dark-haired man in a leather jacket handed the woman behind the front desk a small box before he turned and walked away, leaving the hotel. She couldn't help but feel he was familiar, but she didn't have time to dwell on it since he was already gone. Knowing there wasn't anything she could do, she began to walk toward the cafe to get something to drink, seeing Chris and Susannah were sitting inside near the door.

But before she could get there, she stopped when a much more familiar, welcoming face entered the hotel. "Phil?"

Phil Brooks stopped at the sound of his name, a small smile appearing on his face when Jillian approached him. "Oh, hey, Jill," he said, taking a sip of the coffee he held in his hand. "Sorry for leaving in such a rush yesterday. I had something I needed to help with."

A sad look crossed Jillian's face. "Where were you last night?" she asked quietly.

"Last night?" Phil repeated, his smile vanishing as he tossed the now empty cup into the garbage next to them. "I was here. I wasn't gone all night, just stopped at the pharmacy for some aspirin on my way back. I just left to get some coffee from the nearby Starbucks and came back since I wasn't fond of the hotel's coffee."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

Both Phil and Jillian looked up, watching Chris and Susannah approach them as they left the cafe. He kept his hazel eyes on the blond-haired man since he was the one who had spoken. "Maybe the front desk can do that for you," he answered, his snide tone slipping through. "The secretary saw me come and go." He paused for a minute when he saw the speculating looks on both Chris and Susannah's faces. "Not that I'm not used to your accusations, but why so critical now?"

"Because one of us may be responsible for what's happening to Adam," Susannah told him, crossing her arms. "Mike and Anna got attacked yesterday, and no one knew where you were at all. You tell me how that sounds."

Shock crossed Phil's face. "Oh, so you think _I'm _the one who's torturing Adam?" he wondered. "Look I didn't know about Mike and Anna, and I certainly am _not_ the one who planned for Adam to be taken." He met Chris' anger-filled gaze. "I have nothing against the man."

"Excuse me, Mr. Brooks?"

Phil slowly looked away from Chris when he heard the quiet voice, seeing the secretary had approached the small group. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but this was left for you a few minutes ago," she continued, holding out the small box Jillian had seen the dark-haired man dropping off at the desk.

"Thank you." Phil took the box from her, looking at it with confusion as the woman walked away. "Weird. I didn't order anything..."

Susannah narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the Straightedge Superstar, only looking away when she felt a hand on her shoulder as she met Chris' gaze. "What do you say we head back upstairs?" he asked.

"Sure, sounds good," Susannah answered quietly, glaring at Phil one more time before giving an apologetic look to Jillian. Then, she turned and began to walk away from them with Chris as he led her toward the stairs.

Suddenly, they both stopped in their tracks when they heard a high-pitched scream from behind them. Susannah turned to look over her shoulder, seeing Jillian's face had drained of color as she looked at the contents of the now open box in Phil's hand, his eyes wide with horror. She started to walk back toward them, Chris right with her, her eyes landing on the box as she came to a stop.

"What's wro-!" But her question was abruptly cut off when she saw what was inside, feeling her heart nearly stop.

Lying on a piece of cotton inside the box was a finger.

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the cliffhanger. But it was a good spot to stop. Definitely an ominous ending here. But as we move closer to revealing who's behind it, did you catch the clues? Let me know! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Hey! Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome! After a very ominous ending, let's see where this takes us. But before we do, I want to wish those who celebrate a very happy Easter! Also, my awesome friend **doreenthatshot** named yesterday, April 23, Edge Day! So, in honor of that, here's the next chapter! Keep a look out for any final clues!

_Chapter 14_

Susannah stared at the box with horror, feeling all the color leaving her face. She wasn't sure how she knew since it was just a finger, but somehow, she knew it belonged to Adam. She just knew it. With the situation at hand, it couldn't have belonged to anyone else. Susannah took a small step back, feeling her breath coming quickly and shakily as a feeling of nausea rose up within her and the lobby seemed to start spinning.

Chris stared at the contents of the box with shock for a long moment, only looking away when he heard Susannah's irregular breathing. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, reaching forward and placing his hand on her arm. "Susannah?"

She hardly heard his voice, barely felt her friend's hand on her arm, as her eyes remained locked on the finger. But then, Susannah's legs collapsed from beneath her, her eyes closing as she fell toward the floor.

"Whoa!" Chris immediately reached forward and caught her before she could hit the ground, dropping to one knee as he got a secure hold on her. "Susannah? Susannah!" She didn't respond to him, her head resting limply on his shoulder.

"Susannah!" Jillian ran from Phil's side, dropping down next to Chris as she checked on the other girl. "Susannah, are you okay?"

Chris looked down at Susannah's pale face for a moment longer before turning to Jillian. "She just fainted," he muttered, seeing her attention was still on the unconscious girl he held in his arms. "I can't really blame her..."

Jillian finally looked up at him, the fear still in her gaze. "You think that finger is... Adam's?" she wondered in nearly a whisper, having a difficult time saying his name.

"Who else would it belong to, Jillian?" Chris questioned heavily.

"Oh, my God..." Jillian put her hand to her head. "Why... why would they do this?"

Chris slowly shook his head. "I don't know. Another warning maybe?"

"Maybe..."

Phil finally tore his eyes away from the box, quickly putting the lid back on as he glanced around at the people in the lobby staring at them. "Let's get out of here," he suggested as he approached Chris and Jillian. "We don't want to draw any more attention to ourselves than we have to."

Chris looked up at him, sighing when he knew the other man was right. "All right. "We'll bring Susannah up to my room," he agreed just as quietly. He kept one arm behind her back, wrapping his other under her knees as he got to his feet, holding Susannah close to him as he started walking up the stairs. Jillian slowly stood up, looking up at Phil when he wrapped his arm around her and led her after Chris. The three of them walked down the hall once they got to the third floor, and when they stopped in front of Chris' room, he carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out his room key.

"Hey, Jillian, mind opening the door for me?" he asked, holding it out to her.

It took a minute for Jillian to snap out of her shock, but she nodded and took the key. "Yeah, sure, no problem," she answered quietly, opening the door and entering the room first. She held it open for Chris, who quickly brought Susannah inside and set her carefully down on his bed. Phil followed a bit slower, setting the box he had gotten on the dresser. Jillian shut the door, hurrying into the bathroom to get something for their unconscious friend.

"Is she going to be okay?" Phil wondered as he approached the bed, stopping next to Chris as he looked down at Susannah with concern.

"She should be in a little while," Chris replied, reaching forward and placing his hand lightly on top of her head. "I mean, I'm not surprised. That finger has to belong to Adam."

Phil nodded slightly. "That was my thought too," he agreed quietly.

Chris looked up at him, Phil meeting his gaze. They stared each other down intently for a long moment, both men trying to see the other's true thoughts. They only looked away when Jillian came back into the main part of the room, purposely stepping in between them as she placed a cloth she had wet with cold water on Susannah's forehead.

"There, that should help a little," she said with a sigh, looking from Phil to Chris and back. "Do you guys think we should tell Jay and Mike? They should probably know about this..."

"Good idea, Jill," Phil replied, giving her a small smile when she met his gaze as he pulled out his cell phone. "I'll give them a call."

Jillian nodded. "Okay." She watched as Phil stepped out into the hallway, the door closing behind him before she turned her attention back to Susannah.

Once he was out of the room and the door was closed, Phil glanced up and down the hallway before putting his phone back in his pocket and walking toward the stairs that would bring him down to the lobby. But as he got to the bottom of the staircase, he saw Jay and Allie enter the hotel. He watched as they exchanged a quick but loving kiss, matching smiles on their faces, but the looks vanished as soon as they saw him.

"Oh, hey, Phil," Jay said quietly, his surprise clear. He tried to be as subtle as possible as he put his arm in front of his girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

Phil sighed, running his hand through his black hair. "If you're going to interrogate me, save it for later," he replied. "Susannah collapsed."

Jay's eyes widened with worry as Allie covered her mouth with fear. "Damn it, I _told_ her she needed to eat more," he muttered as he took her hand. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

But Phil shook his head slightly. "It... it wasn't from lack of eating," he told him.

Feeling that something was really wrong, Jay exchanged a concerned look with Allie before turning his attention back to the Straightedge Superstar. "Then what is it?" he asked. "Phil?"

"I think it'd be better if I showed you," Phil answered heavily. "The gang left it with me. Come on, it's in Chris' room. That's where she is too."

Jay watched as Phil turned and started walking back up the stairs, tightening his hand around his girlfriend's as he followed after him. Allie moved a little closer to Jay so she could talk to him without being overheard. "I don't like this," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Something's wrong."

"I don't either, Allie," Jay replied just as quietly. "I don't either."

* * *

"I can't believe Jillian would point her finger at me," Mike muttered to himself.

Anna sighed as she looked over at him. The couple was sitting on the bed in their hotel room, neither one having gotten any sleep after what happened the night before. "I don't think she was necessarily blaming you, Mike," she said, trying to calm him down as she placed her hand on his arm.

Mike sighed, glancing at her for a minute before going back to staring intently at the wall in front of him. "Even if I was the so-called traitor of the group, which I'm not, I wouldn't let you get hurt," he replied quietly. When his girlfriend didn't say anything, he slowly looked back at her, an almost sad look entering his eyes. "You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Anna assured him, wrapping her arms around him. "Mike, I know it's not you. I know you better than that. I know what Adam did for you back when you first joined WWE."

"Yeah, he was one of the few who wasn't waiting to see me fail." Mike laughed quietly, looking back down at his hands as they clenched tightly. "He didn't talk behind my back. He pointed me in the right direction so I could improve. Not many others would do that..."

Anna looked at her boyfriend sadly. "And that's why you wouldn't do this," she told him. "I know that, Mike." She sighed. "I don't want to think it's anyone we know, but unfortunately it does make sense."

Mike nodded slightly. "Unfortunately it does," he repeated quietly, almost thoughtfully. Then, he got to his feet out of his girlfriend's arms.

"Where are you going?" Anna asked, watching as he slipped his shoes on.

"Down to the lobby to get something to eat," Mike answered, grabbing his wallet out of his bag before turning back to Anna. "Want to come with?"

"Sure." Anna stood up and slipped her shoes on as well, leaving the room with Mike. She shut the door behind her as he began to walk down the hall, quickly catching up to him. "Something to eat should be good. Remember Jay wants to watch that video again."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, some food could be good before that," he agreed.

But when they reached the stairs that would bring them down to the lobby, they paused when they saw three people coming up them. Mike's eyes narrowed slightly when they landed on Phil as he reached the top, feeling anger rise within him when his hazel eyes moved to him.

"Glad we ran into you, Mike," Phil said as Jay and Allie joined him. "There's something we need to-!" But his sentence was abruptly cut off as he stumbled back when Mike's fist connected forcefully with his jaw.

"Mike!" Anna shouted, Allie and Jay watching what was happening with wide eyes.

"Where were you, huh?" Mike demanded angrily, storming forward as he continued to punch the other man. "With Adam? Attacking me and Anna?"

Phil protected his face from the other man's assault. "I don't know... what you're talking about," he told him, trying to back away from him. "I was here last night..."

"Bullshit!" Mike's response caused something to snap in the back of Phil's mind, and he cried out as he started throwing punches back.

"Guys, stop!" Allie said anxiously as she covered her face, not wanting to watch the two men fight.

Jay narrowed his eyes angrily as he hurried over to them. "Enough!" he snapped, trying to get in between the brawling Mike and Phil. "Break it up!" Then, he cried out with pain and surprise when one of their elbows came in contact with the side of his head, but it only made him angrier. "I _said _enough!" He forcefully shoved Phil away from him to stop the fight, putting his arm in front of Mike to stop him from trying to continue it. When Phil got back to his feet to face them, Jay reached his other hand out toward him to keep him back. Mike tried pushing past Jay, but the older man turned back to him and pushed him back as well. "Damn it, just stop!"

People started peeking out of their rooms to see what the commotion in the hallway was, and Allie felt her cheeks start to burn as she kept her face covered. Anna sighed, shaking her head.

"Start heading toward Chris' room," Jay quietly told the four of them, keeping a careful eye on Phil and Mike. "Now. Go."

But Phil shook his head, putting his hand to his bottom lip and seeing it was bleeding slightly. "No way," he said. "Not with you guys wasting your time blaming me for what happened to Adam. I'm not going to give my help to people who won't take it." He turned his attention to the man who had started throwing punches. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, Mike, but I've had enough. Good luck." He then walked down the hallway toward his room without another word.

Jay watched the Straightedge Superstar until he was out of sight, rounding angrily on Mike. "Look what you did! What the hell was that for?"

Mike took a few deep breaths to calm down, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know," he muttered, his voice quiet. "I just snapped, and..."

"Well, once you're done acting like a damn child, we can get to the important matter at hand!" Jay replied, the fury he still felt showing through on his face. "Because you couldn't control yourself, we lost someone who I'd like to think was helping us!"

"I'm sorry, Jay," Mike told him, a sad look crossing his face.

Jay glared at him for a moment longer before he sighed, running his hand through his short hair. "It's okay," he said quietly, trying to calm himself down. "With the pressure of the situation... I shouldn't have lost my temper either. But Phil or no Phil, we do need to find those clues. And we'll start with Chris' room. I guess the gang left something for Phil."

Mike met his gaze, sighing with relief when he saw the other man's anger was no longer directed at him. "All right, let's go see what it is," he agreed.

Making sure the younger man truly was calmer, Jay nodded as he wrapped his arm around Allie when she hugged him tightly, beginning to lead her toward Chris' room. Mike lingered behind for a minute, glancing at Anna when she slowly reached forward and took his hand.

"Anna, I'm sorry..."

"I know you are," Anna muttered. "But let's go so we don't get left behind."

Jay knocked on Chris' door, watching as Mike and Anna joined him and Allie in front of the room. It opened a minute later, revealing Jillian on the other side.

"Hey, guys, glad you came," she said, looking at each of them. But then, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Where's Phil?"

Sighing, Jay and Mike exchanged quick looks before the latter looked away. "He left us," the former replied quietly, walking into the room with Allie.

"What?" Jillian asked, turning her attention to Mike. "What does he mean?"

Mike looked at her sadly. "He's not going to help us anymore," he clarified stepping inside with Anna. "And it's my fault. I-!" His sentence was abruptly cut off when Jillian reached forward and slapped him across the face.

"You blamed him, didn't you?" she demanded. "Now look! He's not going to help!"

"Unless Phil really is the one behind it," Chris brought up, looking up at her from where he was standing by the bed.

Jillian looked back at him before glancing at Mike, crossing her arms in an almost defensive way. She still thought it was wrong to accuse Phil, and she refused to accept the fact it really could be him, regardless of how much it was starting to seem that way.

"Well, let's not worry about that now," Jay muttered, addressing the whole room as he approached the bed. He looked down at Susannah with concern, placing his hand lightly on her cheek for a moment before turning his gaze to Chris. "What happened?"

Chris sighed, exchanging a look with Jillian. "See that box on the dresser?" He pointed it out. "That was left for Phil..."

Jay turned over his shoulder, spotting the box the other man was talking about. He walked over to the dresser and picked it up, Allie close with him. He hesitated a moment before lifting the lid off, and he jumped and nearly dropped the box while his girlfriend screamed and covered her mouth when they saw the contents.

"Oh, God..."

Mike and Anna slowly approached them, the latter gasping and covering her mouth as well while Mike's eyes widened with horror. "Is that..." he began, not able to finish his sentence.

Jay stared down at the finger for a couple more minutes before he covered the box back up and set it on the dresser, closing his eyes for a long moment before he turned to look at Chris. "Is it Adam's?" he asked in nearly a whisper.

Chris nodded slightly. "We thought so," he answered quietly. "Who else would it belong to?"

"You're right." Jay sighed heavily as he pulled Allie close when she wrapped her arms around him with tears in her eyes, resting his head against hers. They stayed that way for he wasn't sure how long before he turned back to Chris, keeping his arms around Allie. "Do you still have that video camera?"

"Yes, of course," Chris said.

Jay took a deep breath, holding Allie a little tighter. "All right. If this is some sort of warning from the gang, we need to work faster," he told him. "We need to look at that video again for clues. I'm going to bring Susannah back to our room first. She doesn't have to watch it again, and I don't want her waking up to it. Allie, since you don't want to watch it again either, you can stay with her."

"I'm going to go back to my room, if you don't mind," Jillian muttered. "I really can't watch that video again. Especially after this..." She gestured to the box.

"That's fine, Jillian," Jay told her. "I'll be back in a minute." He released his girlfriend and carefully picked Susannah up into his arms, following Allie and Jillian as they crossed the room to the door while Mike and Anna sat on the bed to wait for him to come back. Once out in the hallway, Jillian said goodbye after her younger sister promised they would let her know what they found, and Jay and Allie walked around the corner to their room. She opened the door, holding it open for her boyfriend as he entered the room first and set Susannah down on their bed. He sighed, looking down at the girl he considered his sister with concern.

"She'll be okay, Jay," Allie muttered, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

Jay turned around and pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. "I know," he replied just as quietly. "And I can't blame her after..."

A thin line of tears formed in Allie's eyes when she heard Jay's voice break, able to hear the tears he was struggling to hold back. "Adam will be okay too," she whispered, rubbing his back. "You'll see."

"I hope so." Jay stayed close to his girlfriend for a moment longer before he released her, giving her a small smile to try to hide the tears that still threatened to fall. "I love you, Allie."

"I love you too," Allie told him, standing on her toes and giving him a soft kiss. "Stay strong, Jay. You'll get through this."

Jay nodded slightly, and before Allie could move too far back, he pulled her into another more intense kiss. She moved closer to him, standing that way as their lips moved together for a long moment before Jay finally broke it, lightly kissing her forehead. "I'll let you know what we find," he replied.

Allie nodded, squeezing Jay's hand tightly for a minute until he released hers and walked away. She turned over her shoulder and watched as Jay left the room, sighing as he shut the door behind him. She picked up the remote from the small table next to the bed and turned on the television, sitting down next to Susannah as she started flipping through channels. But no matter how intently she stared at the screen, she couldn't get the image of what had been in that box out of her mind. She brought her knees up to her chest, a few tears falling from her eyes.

She was more afraid for Adam than ever.

* * *

_The knife gleamed menacingly over the table the gang members were holding his hand on, and he didn't have the strength to move as the blade came closer... _

Adam lay on the hard floor of the cool room, wrapping his arms around himself to try to fight off the dampness since the gang leader had taken away the blanket. His still throbbing left hand had been wrapped in bandages to stop the bleeding, and he closed his eyes tightly when the memory of the knife getting closer to his hand as well as the pain from when it had cut off his ring finger came back to him. He could only imagine what his friends were going through at that moment since he knew the gang had sent it to them in warning.

But he didn't know why they bothered. They could warn them all they wanted, but he didn't think it was going to make much of a difference. His entire body was flaring with pain from what he had been put through, his now missing ring finger only a small part of that, as well as weakened from the fever the previous night. It was then Adam knew he wasn't going to see any of them again.

He remembered how Mike had looked to him for guidance after he had shown him some support when he first joined the WWE, how he had often looked out for the younger man while he secured his place in the company.

He thought about how he had become friends with Anna once she started dating Mike after he met her at the club after his return at the Royal Rumble, how he had helped her through a rough patch in their relationship that could have potentially ended it.

His mind traveled to Jillian, how he had met her through Allie once she started dating Jay, and how they had become best friends, as well as someone he would often pick on since she was such a good sport about it.

He thought how many times he had worked with Chris in the ring, and the fun times they had outside of it being on the road together, happy they had gotten the chance to work together as a tag team even though it had only been for a short time before his injury.

He thought about Allie, how she had become like his younger sister since she started dating his best friend. He often picked on her, but it only reflected how much he cared about her and thought how good of a match she was for the man he considered his brother.

He thought about Jay, his best friend and brother, who he had known since they were kids. They had grown up together, went through many difficult times together, accomplished their dreams together for twenty-seven years. He felt fortunate for having him that long.

It hurt him to know he would never see any of them again.

But then, tears burned behind Adam's closed eyes when his thoughts landed on Susannah, the girl he loved more than life itself, his fiancee. His mind went through a lot of the best times with her, not able to focus on them all since there were too many, but he considered them some of the best times of his life. He felt complete when he was with her, feeling a sense of happiness he didn't feel anywhere else.

Adam slowly opened his eyes, his tear-filled gaze moving to his left hand and the empty space where his ring finger had once been. He had always wanted to find the right girl, settle down, get married, and start a family, and he had felt Susannah was the one he wanted to do that with. But that wouldn't happen now. He would never see her again, never hear her laugh again, never feel her gentle touch again, never kiss her again...

A single tear rolled down his cheek, and Adam quickly raised his tied hands and wiped it away. But before he could lower them, he paused when his gaze landed on the bandage wrapped around his right arm. He didn't remember getting an injury there, and wondering what it was, he took the end of the bandage in his teeth and started to pull it away. He wasn't sure how long it took, but he was finally able to strip the bandage off. Not seeing anything by the tattoo on his forearm, he turned it over, and his eyes widened in fear as he looked at what had been carved into his arm. Hearing his voice hadn't been a dream. He had truly been there. His heart dropped, the realization of the letters' meaning sinking in.

"Oh, my God..."

Then, Adam quickly looked up when the door slammed open, watching as the gang leader, his dark-haired girlfriend, and two more gang members entered the room. "Come on," the long-haired man said as he walked over to him, roughly grabbing a handful of his hair. "We're going to have some company soon."

* * *

The man stared intently out the window at the city below, watching the light drizzle as the sky steadily darkened. He had ordered the gang's captive's left ring finger to be removed, had seen the effect it had on his fiancee, knew how bad of shape he was in after the fever had set in. And yet, he had told them to remove Adam's finger anyway without thinking of the consequences. He had only worsened the other man's condition.

But as he thought about it, the man knew he felt no regret. He didn't regret coming up with the plan, he didn't regret having Adam taken, he didn't regret the punishment the other man was going through now. There was nothing he would have done differently. This was how it was supposed to go.

His hands tightened around the windowsill, his knuckles turning white. Adam deserved what was happening to him. He deserved all the torture, he deserved to lose everything. He didn't deserve happiness since he had taken it from him when the man knew_ he_ was the one who deserved it, not Adam. He had taken his place, and he had to be taken care of so things could be the way they were supposed to be. Taking Adam was a way to ensure that. He knew he had made the right decision.

A smirk slowly spread across the man's face. Soon, he knew the group would figure out the hidden clues in the video and know where to find Adam. Soon, they would know who took him, and he would make them understand why.

The man's smirk broadened when he zipped up his sweatshirt to conceal what the leader of the gang had given him. Most importantly, he would soon have what he wanted.

* * *

A quiet groan escaped from Susannah's throat as she slowly opened her eyes, squinting slightly as she looked around the room. Her gaze landed on Allie sitting next to her, and her eyes narrowed further in confusion. "Where... am I?" she asked quietly.

Allie turned to look at her, a small smile appearing on her face. "Hey, glad to see you're awake," she said, helping her into a sitting position. "You're in our room."

Susannah looked at her for a long moment, putting her hand to her head. "What happened?" she wondered. "I don't remember too much..."

"Well, I don't know much myself since I only heard bits and pieces of the story," Allie replied. "But from what I could gather, you fainted after Phil got a package..."

"Containing Adam's finger," Susannah finished quietly for her, the memories flooding back. She saw the finger resting in the box, felt the nausea rise within her, saw the lobby starting to spin all over again.

Allie pulled Susannah close when she saw the thin line of tears forming in her eyes, resting her head against hers. "It'll be okay," she tried to assure her. "I know it's hard, but it'll be okay. The others are watching the video now to try to find something. We're close, Susannah. We'll find him."

For a moment, Susannah couldn't say anything as she simply held on to Allie's arms around her. Her mind was racing, thinking about everything that had happened before she had passed out. "Hey, Allie. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, of course." Allie looked at her friend curiously. "What is it?"

Susannah met her gaze. "Do you think Phil has anything to do with what happened?" she asked quietly, almost with defeat.

Allie sighed, looking away for a moment. "I know that's what it looks like," she answered, her voice just as quiet. "But I don't want to believe it. I don't want anyone we know to be responsible for what Adam's going through. But..."

"That's what it seems like," Susannah repeated. When Allie nodded, she sighed as she turned her gaze to the couch. Like her friend, she didn't want to believe anyone with them was behind her fiancé's torture. It broke her nearly shattered heart even more.

But then, her eyes narrowed slightly when they landed on the blue pocket-sized notebook she had found the morning after Adam had been taken. "There has to be something more in there, right?" she muttered, moving out of Allie's arms as she got to her feet and grabbed it. "There has to be something here..."

Allie got to her feet as well and stood next to the other girl, looking at the pages curiously as she flipped through them. "Didn't you say something before about how these numbers were monetary values?" she said when they reached the increasing and decreasing number filled pages.

Susannah nodded. "Yeah, that's what Chris and I decided on," she replied. "Most of them anyway. I'm not sure about these fractions."

"Can I see?" Allie took the notebook when Susannah offered it to her, looking at the unknown numbers closely. "What if they're dates?"

"Dates?" Susannah asked.

"Yeah," Allie confirmed. "Each date could correspond to either an increase or decrease in money."

Susannah studied the numbers carefully, her gaze moving to the sudden, sharp drop at the end. "That has a one in it, so it would have taken place in January," she muttered thoughtfully, looking at it closely. "I know that date... Why do I know that date?"

Allie looked at her friend with concern. "Maybe it'll come to you," she suggested.

"No, I _know_ that date," Susannah continued, shaking her head slightly as she bit her lip. "Something important happened... Damn it, I know it too..."

Sighing, Allie placed her hand on her arm. "Well, don't strain yourself..." she began, pausing when she felt her phone vibrating from her pocket. She quickly pulled it out, seeing she was getting a call. It was Jay.

* * *

Jay's mouth was set firmly, his face an expressionless mask as he stared at the screen of the video camera in Chris' hand intently, trying to ignore Adam's screams of pain as he put his hands to his ears and dropped to his knees. He remembered this had been the sound wave torture, something he wanted to avoid seeing. Mike sat next to him on the bed with Anna wrapped tightly in his arms as they watched the video, looking at the footage closely for any clues to their friend's location.

"Hey, Chris, go back a little," Jay suddenly muttered when the video switched to the one where Adam was forced to talk to him. "Go back to when they first get to the warehouse with the sound wave. That'll probably be our best bet."

"I don't know what you're looking for, Jay," Mike said, shaking his head slightly as Chris rewound the video. "I didn't really see anything outstanding in that clip."

But Jay shook his head too. "There has to be something there," he replied, mainly just to assure himself as the video started playing again. "There has to be something..."

"Maybe in the background?" Chris suggested, looking up at Jay.

"Yeah, maybe," Jay agreed quietly, not moving his eyes from the screen. He tried his best to once again block out Adam's screams as he moved his gaze from his best friend to the other gang members standing in the vast room behind him. He watched for another minute through squinted eyes as he looked at the screen carefully, but suddenly, his eyes widened again. "Chris, pause the video."

Chris did as he was told, looking back at the other man in confusion. "What do you see?" he asked.

Jay leaned forward a little, making sure what he was seeing was really there. "Through the doorway in the background," he answered quietly, pointing at where it was on the screen. "There's a boat."

Mike moved forward a little bit as well, spotting what the older man did. "Hey, you're right," he muttered. "That's definitely a boat."

Chris looked at the screen as well. "So, maybe they brought him to a boat storage warehouse," he added, pressing the play button again. "And look. The light in that room is flickering. That could be a bad lightbulb or something."

"I don't remember seeing any while we were in that area, but I didn't get a close enough look," Mike told them.

"Well, even if there is more than one boat storage warehouse, not all of them would be open like that and not all of them would have a bad lightbulb in them," Jay said, pulling out his cell phone. "This may be enough to go off of."

"What are you doing?" Chris wondered.

Jay sighed as he went through his contacts. "I'm calling Allie," he replied. "We need to go out to that warehouse."

Chris narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean now?" he asked. "It'll be getting dark soon."

"Yes, I mean now," Jay answered, pausing before he could call his girlfriend as he looked back at Chris. "I'm sorry, but my best friend is out there. After getting his finger, I'm not waiting any longer to find him. I'm heading out there."

"Well, you're not going alone," Mike spoke up, glancing at Anna. "What we've found is enough clue for me to go get Adam. We're coming too."

Chris nodded in agreement. "So will I," he said, holding his hand out to Jay.

Jay looked at it for a long moment, a smile appearing on his face as he reached forward and shook it.

* * *

Jillian left her hotel room, frustrated since she once again couldn't reach Phil since he wouldn't answer his cell phone. She was concerned about him with everyone blaming him for what happened to Adam, the worry only fueled since she couldn't contact him. Even if she was alone, she still didn't believe Phil could do something like torture one of their close friends.

She walked around the corner, stopping in front of his room and knocking on his door. "Phil! Hey, open up!" she called. "It's me. Jillian." But a bad feeling formed in the pit of her stomach when she knocked again and he still didn't answer.

"Phil?" Jillian knocked a third time, only to be met with the same result. She sighed, taking a step back as she prepared to go back to her room.

But then, she paused when something under the door caught her eye, and looking closer, she saw it was the corner of a piece of folded paper. Jillian knelt down and pulled it out, straightening it out before she looked over the scribbled writing.

_Jill-_

_I figure you're the one who's bound to read this. I'm sorry I had to do this, I really am. You'll understand why soon._

_Phil_

Jillian's eyes widened in horror as she read over the message a second time, trying to comprehend its meaning. What was he apologizing for? What had he done? What would she understand?"

"Phil?" She got to her feet again, knocking on the door a bit harder. She was surprised when it opened a bit, and Jillian forced it the rest of the way open, noticing the part of a bed sheet the Straightedge Superstar had used for a door stopper. But her heart sank when she saw the room was dark, knowing it wouldn't make a difference when she turned on the light.

Phil was gone.

**Author's Note**: Okay, that's it for this one! Did you see any final clues? Next chapter, the bad guy is revealed, so this is the last chance to leave me your guesses! I'm curious what you guys think at this point. And hopefully Edge will be okay! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the reviews! Well, I'm happy to say this is the chapter you have all been waiting for! This chapter reveals who is behind what has been happening to poor Edge! I do have to give slight warning here, though, that there is some more violence in this chapter, but it is not very graphic, just as a head's up. Also, a part of this chapter has been inspired by "My Heart Will Go On," by Celine Dion, otherwise known as the Titanic song. You have been warned, lol! Anyway, I won't keep you any longer! Is it Phil? Is it Chris? Is it someone else? Read on to find out ;)

_Chapter 15_

Susannah and Allie left their hotel room, pulling on their sweatshirts as they hurried around the corner. Right before they could reach Chris' room, the door opened as Jay, Chris, Mike, and Anna walked out. "Hey, glad you guys are here," Jay said, hugging Allie quickly. "We have a lead on Adam."

"So do we," Susannah replied when Jay looked at her curiously. "January. Something happened in January."

Jay's eyes narrowed slightly. "January?" he repeated thoughtfully. "What happened in January?"

Susannah sighed. "I don't know," she muttered. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I know that date, Jay, I do..."

"Try not to stress," Jay told her, wrapping his arms around her for a moment. "We're heading down to the warehouses now. We're going to get Adam."

"You know which one?" Susannah asked, trying not to get her hopes up as she and Allie began to walk with Jay as he led the way toward the staircase that would lead them down to the lobby with Chris, Mike, and Anna close behind.

"We have a good idea," Jay answered, speeding his pace a little with determination. "We'll be able to find it. Someone call Jillian."

"No need," Allie muttered, watching as her older sister hurried down the hallway toward them.

"What's wrong?" Chris wondered, noticing the anxious look on Jillian's face when she approached them.

Jillian looked at the group, her eyes landing on Allie and Susannah. "Phil's gone," she told them.

Jay's eyes narrowed. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" He looked down at the piece of paper Jillian placed in his hand, quickly reading over the scribbled writing. "Damn it!"

Chris took the paper from Jay, sighing when he read it over himself. "Think we'll see him down by the warehouses?" he asked.

"I have no doubt," Jay answered angrily as he made his way down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Jillian looked at Allie curiously as she walked with her and Susannah after the rest of the group.

"To find Adam," Susannah said. "They found something in the video that can narrow down what warehouse he's at."

They hurried across the lobby and out into the parking lot, seeing night was falling quickly. "I'll drive," Chris announced, pulling the keys to his rental car out of his pocket. "Who else?"

"I will. I have my keys on me," Mike replied. "Plus I know where we're going. I'll take Anna with me..."

"And we'll come with you too," Jay muttered, taking Allie's hand.

Susannah sighed, glancing at Jillian. "And we'll go with Chris," she concluded.

"All right, be careful driving when we get down there," Jay told them, thinking about the attack on Mike and Anna. "You guys can follow us."

"See you down there," Chris agreed, starting to walk toward his rental car. Susannah followed him, getting into the passenger seat next to him while Jillian climbed into the backseat. Chris started the car, watching as Mike drove out of the parking lot first before following after him.

The drive was silent, Susannah staring out the window at the passing lights as they made their way down to the canal. Her mind was reeling as she frantically tried to grab onto a memory of something important that had happened in January that could have anything to do with what was happening to Adam. But there wasn't much.

Susannah forced back tears that threatened to fall when Chris followed Mike across the bridge where Adam had made his proposal, both cars slowing a little once they reached the other side before the lead car came to a stop when the road that led to the warehouses came to a dead end.

Chris pulled up next to him, sighing as he turned the car off "This is as close as we can get," he said, turning to look at Susannah next to him. "No matter what happens in there, we're going to be all right."

Susannah looked back at him, determination in her eyes. "Okay," she replied. "Let's just get Adam. That's all I care about."

Smiling, Chris took Susannah's hand and squeezed it before he got out of the car. Susannah took off her seatbelt and stepped out, Jillian doing the same from the seat behind her. The two girls stood close together as they joined Mike, Anna, Jay, and Allie standing at the edge of the road.

"Well, I can say it has the right creepy atmosphere to hide and torture someone," Mike muttered, surveying the area before them while Jay rolled his eyes at the comment. Along the dark, threatening waters of the canal was the series of warehouses. A single path lined with rosebushes united them, the bridge at the end of the path behind them.

"Let's just go get Adam," Jillian spoke up. She wanted to find her friend and leave as soon as possible since the area was freaking her out.

Chris led the way on the dirt path that led to the warehouses, Jillian keeping close to him. Susannah went after them, staying near Jay and Allie while Mike and Anna followed. A heavy tension hung over the group, and Susannah could feel her anxiety rising with every step. She knew she wouldn't be much good if it came down to a physical fight, which she knew it would likely do, so she hoped the element of surprise on their side would be enough of an advantage.

_"You'll only get hurt if you try to rescue me..."_

Adam's warning from what felt like so long ago echoed in her mind, but as Susannah looked at all of the determined expressions around her as they walked, she knew somehow, they would be able to get Adam to safety. They just had to. Even if Phil really was against them.

"Look around closely. Let's spread out a bit to cover more ground," Jay told them. "But hurry. If anyone sees the warehouse from the video, holler."

"We have quite a few to cover," Chris muttered as the group began to scatter as they made their way further along the path. "But it shouldn't be too hard to find, right? We got a pretty good idea from that clip."

"Let's hope not," Allie said in nearly a whisper. "We need to find Adam soon..." Jay reached back and took his girlfriend's hand securely in his, the action comforting to her.

Susannah looked around at her friends before lowering her gaze as a thin line of tears formed in her eyes while she walked aimlessly along the dark path. She also knew they needed to find Adam soon since she knew he wasn't in good condition. She only hoped they would be in time.

But then, Susannah bit her bottom lip. No. They would be in time to save Adam. She had to remain strong for him.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Mike suddenly said.

Susannah immediately looked up, seeing he was standing with Anna in front of a warehouse a good number of feet from her. She glanced at Jay, Allie, and Chris since they were closest, and Chris wrapped his arm around her as they hurried over to the couple with Jillian not far behind.

"It fits the description," Anna said once the whole group was there as they looked at it carefully.

"Yeah, it does," Jay agreed thoughtfully, seeing the lightbulb hanging in the open garage area where boats were stored was flickering. He sighed, his fist clenching at his side. "Let's get Adam."

The group slowly walked into the garage, breaking up into groups as they weaved among the boats to make their way toward the back. Chris and Susannah moved along the left side, Jay and Allie took the middle with Jillian, and Mike and Anna made their way to the right. The vast room was quiet except for their nearly silent footsteps and their hushed but tense breathing as they listened for any signs anyone else was there.

Susannah's attention was directly ahead of her, not caring about anything else around her as she stared intently at the door that had come into sight as she made her way toward it. That's where Adam was, she just knew it. She was so close.

She stopped at the edge of the boat closest to the door, noticing she had lost Chris among the others as she waited for the rest of the group to catch up with her so they could all go in together. But as she looked around the rest of the area, something caught her eye on the ground in front of her. Something appeared to be drawn into the dirt, and after glancing carefully around the area, Susannah snuck out from behind the shelter of the boat to stand in front of the door to look at the lettering better. When she saw what it was in the light of the flickering bulb, her eyes widened in horror as her heart nearly stopped.

"What do you think you're doing, Susannah? Get back!"

She heard the voice of the man she considered her brother hiss at her, felt his hands on her arms as he approached her, but otherwise, Susannah ignored Jay since she couldn't tear her eyes away from the writing in the dirt. "Look," she murmured, resisting when he tried to pull her away.

Jay paused and looked down at the ground too, gasping quietly when he saw what had been written. "What..."

Quiet footsteps neared them, announcing as Jillian, Allie, Mike, and Anna joined them. "What are you guys looking at?" Anna wondered. But then, just like Susannah and Jay, her eyes widened with shock when she saw the lettering in the dirt, and Mike, Jillian, and Allie had similar reactions when they saw it as well. It was easy to read, but the meaning wasn't as understandable.

Three simple characters were etched in the ground before them- Y. 2. J.

"Y2J..." Susannah whispered, her voice taking on a resigned tone as she closed her eyes. "It's not Phil."

"You finally figured it out. But you're just a little too late."

Susannah quickly turned to her left when she heard the quiet voice, watching as Chris walked out from the shadows the boats provided, his eyes shining in the light from the flickering bulb. He slowly came closer to them, and Jay pulled both Susannah and Jillian behind him next to Allie while Mike stood in front of Anna. "Chris, what..."

A smirk spread across Chris' face as he laughed a little, coming to a stop in front of the group. "Don't tell me you're actually surprised," he muttered. "I mean, the gang had to have some sort of leadership, don't you agree? And someone needed to keep an eye on all of you. But my plan worked perfectly. You blamed Phil when he had nothing to do with this." He paused thoughtfully, an almost angry look crossing his face. "I know now... Adam deserved what he had coming to him..."

"Damn you!"

The outburst caught everyone off guard, and Allie's eyes widened in horror as Jay suddenly left the group and stormed toward Chris, fury blazing in his eyes. "Jay, wait!" she shouted.

But Jay completely ignored her, his attention set solely on Chris. "Where is he?" he demanded as he got closer. "What the hell did you do to him?"

However, Jay didn't get much closer when Chris pulled a gun out of his light sweatshirt, aiming it at his forehead and making the other man stop dead in his tracks. "Don't move," he warned quietly. "Or you'll end up worse than your friend."

"What did he ever do to you?" Jay continued just as angrily, though he eyed the gun nervously. "You were friends. Why did you do this?"

Chris gazed at the other man for a long moment, a look in his eye that he couldn't quite read. "Do you really want to know, Jay?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Jay answered in nearly a whisper. "I want to know why you're trying to kill my best friend."

Another smirk appeared on Chris' face as he stared at Jay. But before he said anything, Jay quickly looked behind him when he heard the sound of the door crashing open, and he watched with horror as the gang rushed out of the back room. "Allie!" he shouted with worry when one of the men grabbed her along with Jillian and another grabbed Anna. Mike tried to pull his girlfriend away from the gang member, but he was stopped when he was shoved roughly into the boat nearest them and then restrained by another man.

Then, Jay cried out in pain when he turned back to Chris, the heavy metal of the gun he held colliding with the side of his jaw. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, putting his hand to the throbbing half of his face as he fought the darkness at the corner of his eyes. He was then pulled roughly to his feet by another man, not able to fight back much due to the intense pain radiating from his jaw.

Susannah backed up into the boat closest to her, trying to get away from the long-haired man who was in charge besides Chris and the woman they had gotten the video camera from as they came closer to her. The man grabbed her arm and started to pull her toward them, and she tried to struggle out of his hold to no avail. She winced when the woman set her hand on her cheek, trying to turn her head to get away from her touch.

"Wait!"

Gasping quietly, Susannah watched as Chris hurried over to them. "Let her go," he told the man holding her. "I'll take care of her."

After a moment, the man roughly released his hold on her arm, pushing her forward a little before he went over to help restrain Mike. The woman smiled down at her, running her fingers through Susannah's hair before making her way over to Allie. Susannah watched them leave before turning her attention back to Chris when she felt his hand on her shoulder, about to pull it away but thought better of it when her eyes landed on the gun still in his hand.

"Why?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking a little as tears formed in her eyes. Though the question was simple, it was one that summed up all of her racing thoughts. "I trusted you. You were my best friend, Chris, one of the first I made here. How could you do this to us?"

Chris slowly looked down at her, his hard expression softening when he saw the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "You wouldn't understand," he answered just as quietly.

"You owe me an explanation," Susannah hissed as she shook her head, refusing to accept that answer. "You're the one behind the torture of my fiance!"

"I did it for you!" Chris snapped, suddenly angry. But when he saw the fear on Susannah's face at his outburst as she took a step away from him and flinched, he sighed and lowered his gaze. "At least partly."

Susannah stared at Chris with shock, her body slowly relaxing since he had calmed down slightly. But then, her eyes narrowed. "Wait. That date in January... This has to do with Adam's return, doesn't it?" she asked quietly, things starting to slowly make sense to her when she remembered the pay-per-view that had taken place on that day. "Something happened where money was lost when he won at the Royal Rumble, didn't it?"

Chris looked down at her, slight anger crossing his face. But before he lost his temper again, he turned his attention to the rest of the gang. "Bring them in," he ordered.

The other members did what they were told, dragging Jay, Allie, Jillian, Mike, and Anna through the door. Chris watched them for a long moment before following, pulling Susannah along with him. They entered a large, chilly room, not able to see much because of the dim lighting. Chris walked across the room, still keeping a tight hold on his captive so she couldn't run, and flipped a switch, casting some light from a naked bulb hanging on the ceiling.

Susannah gasped loudly with fear at what was in the middle of the room. "_Adam_!"

He was lying on the floor on his stomach, eyes closed and hands tied in front of him. But at the sound of the familiar voice saying his name, Adam's eyes slowly fluttered open as he weakly raised his head to look around in confusion. Shock crossed his face when he saw his fiancee, staring at her with disbelief. "Susannah...?"

Feeling tears rush to her eyes, Susannah tried to walk over to him but was prevented from doing so by Chris' tight hold on her arm. Adam pushed himself up on his arms a little, his eyes not leaving Susannah's face as Chris started to drag her back toward the rest of the group. "No!" she shouted as she tried to fight out of Chris' hand. "No, let me go! Adam!"

"Susannah..." Adam struggled to push himself up into a sitting position as he watched Chris bring her to the gang. The woman smiled as she took her from him, placing the thin blade of the pocketknife Chris had given her against her neck to make sure she wouldn't try running. He propped himself up on his arms, reaching his tied hands out toward her. "Don't hurt her..."

Chris glanced over his shoulder at Adam for a second before looking back at Susannah, who looked terrified that the woman had put the sharp edge to her throat. His gaze softened, and he placed his hand lightly on her cheek. Susannah bit her bottom lip, fighting the urge to turn her head to escape from his touch.

"Remember, Susannah, I'm doing this for you," Chris muttered, lowering his hand before taking a couple steps back from her. He turned to look at Jay, who was being restrained next to Susannah, and smirked when he saw the angry look he was getting. Allie stood close next to him with Jillian, both looking afraid of what he had in mind to do with them.

Then, Chris slowly walked over to where Mike was being held, seeing he was trying to fight out of the hold of the man who was restraining him. His malicious smile only broadened when he saw the glare the younger man was giving him before he forcefully kneed him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" Anna shouted while Mike cried out in pain, slumping in the man's arms as he coughed to get air back in his lungs. But then, she whimpered and flinched when Chris got in her face.

"No!" he snapped angrily. "What makes you think that I'm going to listen to you?"

"Chris."

Hearing the sudden calm but weak voice, Chris slowly turned around, seeing Adam had somehow made it up to his knees and was looking at him through weary green eyes. "Leave them alone," he continued, trying to catch his breath. "Please..."

"My pleasure." Chris glanced back at Mike one last time to make sure he wasn't going to try escaping again before slowly walking over to Adam. He grabbed a handful of his blond hair and pulled him up to his feet, having to drag him since he could hardly stand by his own power over to the wall. He used the rope that bound his hands together to attach them to a hook hanging above his head, grabbing what appeared to be a whip from the floor next to him.

Susannah's eyes widened with horror when she realized what the man had in mind, feeling powerless since she couldn't do anything with the cool metal against her throat. "Chris, no!" she pleaded, another wave of hot tears forming in her eyes. "Don't do this... Chris, _don't_!"

But her words went unheeded as Chris straightened the whip out, looking back at her for a moment. "It's because I love you," he told her. Then, he turned his attention back to Adam as he let the whip fly.

Tears started to fall from Susannah's eyes as she watched it snap against Adam's already ravaged back, watching as his body tensed but no sound escaped from him since he refused to let the pain show. He wasn't going to make it any harder on his friends than it had to be, especially for the girl he loved. Jay's eyes widened fearfully while Allie gasped and looked down, not being able to watch as Chris continued to torture the man she considered her brother.

"He took you from me," Chris continued, watching as the whip hit Adam's back for a second time, then a third. Still, he didn't make a sound. "He could never love you like I do..." A fourth hit, and still no response from Adam other than his body tensing with pain.

Jillian looked away from the sight as tears formed in her eyes, Anna doing the same when she saw fresh cuts making themselves known on her friend's back. Mike slowly looked up, glaring angrily at Chris. He could see the intense pain on Adam's face with every strike, watching as he bit his bottom lip hard to keep from crying out. If only he could escape from the man holding him...

"When Adam came back earlier than expected to win that match that night when _I _was supposed to, it cost these people a large sum of money," Chris said darkly, confirming what Susannah had begun to realize as he struck Adam's back another time. "I had to make it up to them somehow. What better way to do that then by giving them the one man who's responsible for that loss?" He saw the other man's knuckles turning white due to how tightly he was clenching his fists together but wasn't satisfied since he hadn't made a sound.

Jay's breathing quickened when a thin line of tears formed in his eyes as he continued to watch his best friend suffer, a single one rolling down his cheek when Chris struck Adam yet again. Allie glanced over at him, silently crying herself. Her heart broke when she saw Jay struggling to restrain his tears, and she reached over and wrapped her fingers around his hand in a hopefully comforting manner.

Susannah watched as the whip came down on Adam's back one more time, not able to stand the sight any longer. Chris was hurting him because of one stupid match... and because he thought he loved her. "Stop..." she whispered, her voice trembling before it came out as a strangled yell. "_Stop_!"

Chris pulled his arm back for another strike but stopped when he heard her voice, and he turned to look back at her. Adam glanced behind him as well, seeing the other man had actually stopped his assault, and he closed his eyes as he let out a deep, relieved breath. His body slumped, only being held up by the hook Chris had attached the rope binding his hands to. At that moment, giving into the darkness that was threatening to take him so he could escape from the pain sounded ideal. But Susannah was there, and he couldn't leave her.

Looking back at Adam to assess his condition, Chris tossed the whip aside before grabbing onto the rope that tied his hands together, lifting it off the hook and watching as the other man collapsed to the cold, hard floor and had to immediately turn onto his side because of the pain in his back. Seeing he wouldn't be going anywhere, he then walked across the room to where Susannah was being held at knifepoint. "Is there anything else you would like me to do for you?" he asked in a sneering tone.

Susannah met Chris' gaze with determination. "Let me see him," she answered, her voice unwavering despite the fresh tears in her eyes.

"What?" Chris looked down at Susannah with surprise. "Now why would I do a thing like that?"

But his response didn't faze her. "You love me, right?" Susannah pressed, remaining calm. "Then please. Let me just see him one more time. Please, Chris. For me."

Chris bit his lip thoughtfully, glancing back at Adam and seeing he hadn't moved much before looking back at Susannah's pleading gaze. "All right," he reluctantly agreed. "But only for a minute."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the woman holding Susannah wondered, not releasing her hold on the other girl. But she gasped quietly when she received a dark glare from Chris.

"I _said_ it's all right," he told her.

Sighing, the woman lowered the knife blade and released her hold on her captive's arm. As soon as she was free, Susannah ran past Chris to where Adam was lying on the other side of the room, immediately dropping down next to his side. She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder, brushing his hair away from his pale face. A few tears fell from her eyes that she quickly wiped away when she saw the bruises and cuts that marked his face and upper body, not able to imagine what he had been put through. She could feel Chris' intense eyes on her back, but she ignored him. Her full attention was on the nearly unconscious man lying before her, his breath coming lightly and shallowly.

"Addy?" she said in a voice just above a whisper.

At her gentle touch and quiet voice, Adam slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her, and Susannah's heart broke when she saw the small smile that formed at the corner of his mouth. "It's... it's really you?" he muttered hoarsely.

Susannah tried her best to return the smile, tenderly placing her hand on the side of his face and running her thumb lightly over his cheek. "Yes," she assured him quietly, hoping to keep her voice controlled as she struggled to hold back more tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "It's me. I'm here, Adam."

Adam looked up at her for another moment before he slowly moved a little closer to her, and Susannah gently placed his head on her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, seeing his eyes were closed again out of what she knew had to be exhaustion. Silent sobs began to shake her shoulders as a couple tears escaped despite her efforts, but she tried her best to restrain them as she focused on Adam. He needed her now.

As he lay there, his head on Susannah's lap and his arms draped over her leg, Adam felt peaceful for the first time since he had been brought to the warehouse. The pull of the looming darkness was becoming stronger, and he knew that moment would be the best to let it take him. He was wrapped in the arms of the girl he loved, feeling her fingers running through his hair and up and down his arm, her touch easing the pain ever so slightly. That calm was the last thing he wanted to feel.

Allie and Jillian moved a little closer to each other, as much as they could being held by a couple of the gang members, while they watched Adam and Susannah's silent interaction as she provided him with at least a little temporary comfort. Mike's hard gaze saddened as he watched the couple, briefly reunited after a torturous few days for both of them, relieved that they would at least have a little more time together as Anna gripped his hand tightly. Jay's gaze stayed on the people he considered to be his family, a couple of tears escaping from his eyes as a sense of peace filled him. They were together, at least for a moment, and that was all that mattered.

Susannah looked at her fiance sadly, taking a deep breath as she leaned down a little to get close to his ear. "I love you, Addy," she whispered, her voice breaking as more tears fell from her eyes. "So much..."

Hearing her quiet sob, Adam opened his eyes and slowly looked up at her again, concern crossing his face when he saw her tears. Since she was still close enough to him, he reached up with his tied hands and carefully wiped them from her cheeks with his thumb. Susannah gave him a small smile, closing her eyes when Adam leaned a little closer to her and met her lips in a soft but loving kiss.

"I... I love you too," he murmured, running his fingers through her hair as he closed his eyes and rested his head against hers. "That won't change... no matter what happens now..."

But Susannah shook her head as more tears rose to her eyes and threatened to fall, holding him tightly as Adam looked at her again through worn out eyes. She could hear the effort it took for the man she loved just to say short sentences, and she could also hear the almost resigned tone to his voice. "No," she said, trying to keep her tears back. "No. You're going to be okay. We're together. You... you can't..." She may not have known what Adam had gone through the past few days while in the gang's custody, but she could see it had really taken its toll on him. The nightmare she had the first night he had been taken came back to her, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing him, one way or another.

Adam gave her a small smile, a thin line of tears appearing in his own eyes. "Don't cry," he told her quietly, lightly kissing her forehead. "It'll be... okay. I promise." He paused for a moment to catch his breath, each one seeming harder to take than the last. "I'll never... leave you..."

Then, he winced with pain as his face grew a shade paler, moving his bound hands to his chest for a moment. Susannah brushed some hair back from his face with concern, wrapping her hand around his. After a moment, Adam opened his eyes again and moved his dim gaze back to her face, slowly intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Don't let go, okay?" Susannah muttered, giving him a small smile through her tears.

Adam looked back at her, sighing as a single tear fell from his eye. He wished he could have told her he wouldn't with certainty, but he couldn't. Not with not knowing what Chris had in mind for him now and how he could feel the little strength he had left leaving him. Instead, he moved a little closer to her and caught her lips with a bit more intensity.

Chris watched Susannah as she shared the kiss with Adam before he laid his head on her lap and closed his eyes again due to exhaustion, able to see her presence was enough to give at least a little strength to the man he had tortured. He could see how much she loved him with every gentle, caring touch, and it made his heart ache. He took a couple steps toward them, knowing he couldn't let it go on.

But before he could take Susannah back, Chris stopped and quickly looked behind him when he heard a grunt of pain. He saw with surprise that Mike had somehow gotten free from the man who had been holding him and was attacking the one who was holding his girlfriend as he got her to safety. "How did you escape?" he demanded.

Jillian then gasped when she felt the man who held her loosen his arms around her, watching with shock as he was shoved to the ground away from her. She quickly turned around, finding herself looking at a familiar face. "_Phil_?"

Phil Brooks gave her a goofy smile. "Miss me, Jill?" he asked, quickly punching the man who released Allie in the jaw when he took a swing at him.

Feeling tears form in her eyes, Jillian did her best to glare at him. But the angry look soon vanished when a look of relief replaced it as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I'll take that as a yes," Phil said, laughing a little as he hugged her back.

"You left," Jillian murmured, keeping a tight hold on him.

Phil smiled, running his hand up and down her back a couple times. "I did," he replied. "But I was never actually far away."

Since the man holding him was surprised by the sudden new arrival, Jay found it didn't take much effort to elbow him in the jaw and loosen his arms enough to escape. He grabbed the gang member's arm and kneed him forcefully in the back before shoving him away. But as he turned around, he saw the woman of the group was standing directly in front of him. Before he could react, he cried out in pain when she hit him in his already throbbing jaw with the handle of the knife she had held at Susannah's throat.

Allie quickly turned around when she heard Jay's scream, watching as he dropped to his knees with his hands at his jaw. Her eyes then moved to the woman who stood over him, knife in hand, as she knocked him onto his back with her foot. Overcome by anger that had been building toward her, she ran over and tackled her without even thinking about what she was doing.

The woman hit the ground first, and Allie stayed on top of her as they landed. She got the knife from her hand and tossed it aside before relentlessly punching her, her bottled up emotions being released with every strike that landed. She felt the woman's hands on her shoulders trying to push her away, their hold becoming weaker until they fell limply to the ground. But Allie kept hitting, not only as payback for hurting Jay, but also for everything she helped put the man she considered her brother through.

Finally, Allie was pulled away from the woman when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind and brought her to her feet, and she found herself facing Jay. "I think you got her," he muttered, looking down and seeing the woman wasn't moving.

"Oops." Allie looked down at her too, seeing that she had actually knocked her out. "I didn't realize I was hitting her so hard... It's just with everything that's happened..." But her sentence trailed off, confused when she saw a smile on Jay's face. "What?"

"I'm proud of you, Allie," Jay replied with a slight laugh before giving her a quick kiss. "Didn't think you had it in ya."

Allie returned the smile, hugging her boyfriend tightly. "I guess dating a wrestler comes in handy sometimes," she said.

Susannah finally tore her eyes away from Adam as she straightened up and looked over her shoulder when she heard the chaos behind her, watching as Mike and Phil knocked a couple of the gang members out by punching them each forcefully in the jaw and clunking their heads together, and as Jay attacked one that approached him and Allie. But then, she gasped when Chris appeared in front of her, grabbing her arms and roughly forcing her to her feet away from Adam. "No! Let go of me!"

Adam slowly opened his eyes when he felt Susannah being pulled away from him, watching as Chris dragged her toward the other end of the room. He weakly raised his head, reaching his tied hands out after her. "Susannah..."

Chris stopped when he felt he was far enough away from Adam, bringing Susannah's face close to his. "You had your time," he muttered, shoving her away from him before picking up the knife Allie had taken from the woman in his gang. "Now you're mine." Susannah shrieked when she hit the floor, wincing when she landed hard on her right arm.

Feeling anger rising up in him as he watched the other man roughly push around his fiancee, Adam started to push himself up to his knees. But he didn't get far when Chris came back to him, punching him forcefully in the jaw. Adam winced when he hit the ground, feeling the other man grab his arms and force him to his feet. He felt the rope binding his hands loosen as Chris cut it, watching as the other man put the knife in his pocket and tossed the rope aside before he felt himself start to be led toward the door of the room.

Susannah sat up, searching for Adam. She watched as Chris dragged him out of the large room to the garage and got to her feet. Glancing back at her friends as they fought with the remaining gang members, she took a deep breath as she made up her mind and hurried in the direction Chris and Adam had gone.

* * *

Jay punched the last man forcefully in the jaw, watching with a sense of satisfaction as he limply hit the ground. It was a great feeling to finally be able to get revenge on the gang that had caused them so much grief. He then looked around, watching as Mike checked on Anna to make sure she was all right. He looked down when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, pulling Allie closer as he rested his head against hers. Having his girlfriend so close was a reprieve after everything they had just gone through, and he was just relieved it was over.

Phil walked through the bodies of the gang members lying on the floor around them back over to Jillian, giving her a smile when he stopped beside her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Jillian answered. "Shaken up... but okay."

"Good. Glad I got here in time..." Phil's sentence trailed off, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair.

Jillian looked over at him. "Where did you go?" she wondered.

Phil smiled slightly as he looked back at Jillian. "I couldn't have anyone know where I went or what I was doing," he muttered. "I was starting to get suspicious of Chris, especially after I got that package. If you guys knew I was onto him, he could have easily found out, and I couldn't let that happen. This way, I could keep tabs on him. Find the hideout. Hopefully find Adam. But I wasn't far away from you guys. That's how I was able to find you."

Sighing, Jillian gave him another quick hug. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Uh... guys?"

The rest of the group turned to look at Anna as she stared at the room with worry. "Where's Susannah?"

Panic replacing the fleeting relief, Jay released Allie as he looked around the room as well. He sighed heavily when he saw that Susannah, along with Adam and Chris, was nowhere to be seen.

**Author's Note**: Good news is, we know who did this to Edge, and were even briefly reunited with him! Bad news is, Chris has more up his sleeve, so Edge is not out of hot water yet. Hope you enjoyed! Will everything turn out all right? You'll have to keep on reading to find out ;) Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the bit of a longer wait. It's not fanfiction's fault this time, lol. With having to prepare for finals this week, I kinda forgot. But, here we are! Last time, we found out Chris was the one behind everything. Which, really isn't a good thing considering he's crazy, lol. As we're about to find out ;)

_Chapter 16_

Susannah left the chaos behind her and pushed open the door, walking into the vast garage where the boats were stored. She looked around, hearing faint footsteps toward the entrance and quickly hurried after them as she stepped out into the night. She walked down the dirt path that connected the warehouses in the direction the cars were parked, her anxiety rising as she kept an eye out for the two men. "Chris!" she called. "Adam! Where are you?"

"I knew you'd follow me."

Hearing the sudden voice, Susannah stopped and looked to her right, seeing Chris was sitting on a stone bench in front of a couple rosebushes across the path from her by the edge of the canal. Slumped on the ground next to him was the man she loved. "Adam..." she muttered, starting to walk toward him.

But she stopped when Chris pulled the handgun out of his jacket, grabbing Adam's hair and pulling him up a little as he got to his feet before putting the barrel to his temple. "I would think about coming any closer if I were you," he cautioned.

"Please, Chris, don't hurt him." Susannah looked at Adam anxiously. Her breath caught in her chest when she saw Adam's eyes slowly flutter open, his dim, weary gaze finding her. "Please, stop this now. You know as well as I do the rest of them are going to find us once they get through your gang, so you might as well just let him go..."

Chris smirked at her. "I'm not just going to hand him over because you ask me to, not after all I've done," he told her. "You can save him... But not without doing something for me."

Susannah had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she looked into the man she had once considered her friend's now demented eyes. "And what would that be?" she asked quietly.

"The only way you can save Adam is if you marry me," Chris answered, his voice taking on a malicious tone.

"What?" Susannah stared at Chris with shock. She knew how he felt about her, but this was going too far.

"You heard me." Chris glanced down at Adam when he began to struggle in his hold. "If you want Adam to live, you have to marry me."

"Susannah, don't," Adam muttered, his gaze suddenly determined. Chris was a monster. "I would rather die than see you with him. I couldn't stand to have you suffer like that for me."

"Shut up!" Chris shouted, kneeing him in the back forcefully. "It's not your decision!"

"Chris, I... I can't..." Susannah bit her bottom lip nervously, feeling tears starting to rise to her eyes. She loved Adam. She couldn't do that to him, especially when she was finally with him after everything that happened.

Growling angrily, Chris pushed the gun harder against Adam's head, making the other man wince with pain. "Do you think I'm playing around here?" he demanded, placing his finger on the trigger. "If you don't marry me, Susannah, Adam dies!"

"Please, Susannah..." Adam whispered as he looked back at his fiancee. "I don't want to lose you that way..."

Susannah looked from Chris' furious face to Adam's pleading gaze, closing her eyes as she felt a couple tears escape from them and put her hand to her head. Either way, she was going to lose the man she loved.

"I'm waiting," Chris said, starting to pull back on the trigger.

Sighing, Susannah slowly opened her eyes as she ran her hand through her hair before lowering it, her gaze landing on her fiance first. "Adam, I love you. Please forgive me," she told him quietly before moving her tear-filled eyes to the other man. "Okay, Chris. Yes."

Chris looked at her with surprise, releasing the pressure of the gun slightly. "What?"

"Yes," Susannah repeated, taking a deep breath as she tried to prepare herself for what she was about to say. She hated it. "I'll marry you, Chris."

Adam looked up at her with dread before Chris pushed him roughly to the ground as he put the gun away. He then weakly cried out with pain when he started to bring his foot down forcefully on his lower back.

"Stop!" Susannah screamed, more tears falling from her eyes. "Chris, stop it! I agreed!" But when Chris only continued his relentless assault, she took a deep breath and ran forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she buried her face in his chest. "_Stop_!"

Surprised by the action, Chris backed away from Adam, pulling Susannah with him. He looked down on the other man, writhing in pain on the ground before moving his gaze to the sobbing girl with her arms still wrapped around him and lightly placed his hands on her shaking shoulders.

"You... you'll really do this?" Chris asked quietly.

After a moment of trying to slow her breathing, Susannah looked up at him through angry, tear-filled eyes. "Yes," she answered, her tone trembling. "I will."

A smile appeared on Chris' face as Susannah let go of him, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out her silver flower engagement ring. From where he lay on the ground, Adam slowly raised his head to look at them, watching with rising anger as Chris took the hand of the girl he loved and slipped the ring he had given to her on her left ring finger. He cursed his own helplessness, knowing there wasn't much he could do since he couldn't even breathe without a tremendous amount of pain.

Susannah felt a couple more tears leak from her eyes, flinching slightly when Chris raised his hand and wiped them away with his thumb. "It's okay," he told her gently. "You know I would never hurt you." But before the girl could say anything, he quickly looked up when he heard voices echoing from the warehouse, recognizing them to belong to the rest of the group.

"Help-!" Susannah started to shout, but Chris covered her mouth.

"We have to go," he muttered, ignoring her as she tried to pull his hand away. "Come on."

Adam was only able to watch as Chris dragged Susannah away from the warehouse and out of sight down the path, sighing as footsteps stopped near him. As soon as his body allowed him to move, he was going to strangle him.

"Oh, my God! Adam!"

Recognizing the voice of the girl he considered to be his sister, Adam looked up as Allie knelt down next to him, Jay doing the same on his other side. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously, removing his light sweatshirt and lightly wrapping it around his best friend. Adam winced slightly when the soft material came in contact with his ravaged back before carefully slipping his arms through the sleeves.

"Give me a minute," he muttered through gritted teeth as he pushed himself up to his knees. He paused, taking a deep breath. "It's just a flesh wound, Jay. Never been better."

Jay rolled his eyes as he looked at his best friend's exhausted expression. After everything they had done to find him, after all the fear and worry, he was finally back with them and alive. A thin line of tears formed in his eyes as Adam weakly met his gaze, and he slowly reached forward and carefully wrapped his arms around him. Adam hissed quietly with pain when his arms touched his back, but he ignored it as he leaned into him and hugged him back.

"I'm so glad..." Jay began quietly, not able to finish the sentence as the tears in his eyes threatened to fall.

Adam laughed quietly, understanding what he was trying to say as he forced back his own tears. He had thought he would never see the man he considered his brother again. "Thank you, Jay," he muttered. That was all he could say.

They stayed like that for a moment longer before they parted, matching smiles on their faces. Then, Jay's vanished when Adam started to try to push himself to his feet. "What are you doing?" he wondered.

Sighing, Adam looked back at him. "I have to go."

Jay immediately set his hand on his shoulder, trying to stop him. "You need to stay down," he told him as Phil, Jillian, Mike, and Anna joined them. "We're going to get you to a hospital, and-!"

"No!" Adam interrupted, his breathing heavy.

"Adam, you look terrible!" Jillian said as she knelt down next to her sister, placing her hand on Adam's arm to help Jay.

Sighing, Adam smirked at her. "Thanks for the self-confidence boost, Jillian."

"She's right, Adam," Jay agreed firmly. "We need to get you medical attention."

"I can't do that, Jay," Adam muttered. "Chris has Susannah."

"What?" Mike asked, horrified. "Why would he take her?"

Adam ran his hand through his hair. "He's forcing her to marry him," he told him quietly, his tone faltering slightly. "I'm not going to the damn hospital until I have her back."

"Where would he go, though?" Jillian pressed. She was worried about her friend.

"Back to the hotel maybe?" Phil wondered. "Get their things and leave?"

"No, I don't think so." Adam looked up in the direction of the path Chris had taken the girl he loved. "He was bringing her toward the bridge."

Mike sighed. "You think he's taking her there?" he asked.

Adam met his gaze. "Most likely," he answered. "If we go now, we could catch up with them before they leave."

Phil ran his hand through his hair. "You guys go after them," he said. "Jillian and I will stay back here with the gang until the police arrive."

"All right. Make sure to keep in touch," Jay replied. "And be careful." He watched as Jillian, glancing over her shoulder at Adam, and Phil ran back toward the building that had served as Chris' gang's hideout before turning his attention back to his best friend. He sighed, running his hand lightly over his bruised, throbbing jaw. "Adam, you really need to get medical attention."

"You really should, Adam," Allie added quietly, feeling tears starting to prick her own eyes as she placed her hand on his arm. "You really don't look good..."

But Adam slowly shook his head, looking down at the ground in front of him. "No. Not yet," he muttered. Though his tone was weak, his determination was clear. "You don't understand. Susannah agreed to marry Chris to save my life. I could never forgive myself if I didn't help her now."

Jay looked at the man he considered his brother sadly. Though it was against his better judgement, he knew there would be no changing Adam's mind on this. Not when it came to Susannah. "Are you absolutely sure he'd be bringing her to that bridge?" he wondered.

Adam thought about his question carefully for a long minute before he looked up and met his gaze. He remembered when he had told Chris about his plans to propose to Susannah on that bridge before everything happened. "I would bet my life on it."

Not liking the figure of speech used, Jay sighed and lowered his gaze. "All right. We'll head out there," he said, his tone resigned.

"Anna and I could take a different way to the bridge," Mike suggested. "If you guys follow this path, we could corner him in so there's nowhere for him to go."

Allie nodded as she looked at the couple. "That's a good idea," she confirmed. "We don't want to take any chances. Be careful, okay?"

Mike smiled. "We will." Then, he took Anna's hand and ran with her out of sight.

Jay watched them leave before looking down at Adam, offering his hand out to him. The other man looked at it for a minute before taking it, holding onto the man he considered to be his brother tightly as Jay helped him to his feet. He couldn't hide his cringe of pain, leaning on him for a minute to catch his breath.

"Adam, I really don't like this..." Jay began, concern crossing his face.

"I'll be fine, Jay," Adam assured him, giving him a smile as Allie came over to check on him as well. "Let's get Susannah."

* * *

Jillian was silent as she walked back into the vast garage of the warehouse where they had trapped the gang, biting her bottom lip to try to keep her tears back. Phil glanced at her as he fell into step beside her, his eyes narrowing slightly with concern when he saw the pale tint to her face in the dim lighting of the flickering lightbulb above them.

"Are you all right, Jill?" he asked quietly.

She didn't even acknowledge the question for a long moment, but then, Jillian sighed and turned to look at him. "I'm worried about Adam," she answered just as quietly. "He's not in good shape... I'm scared about what's going to happen if he pushes himself too far. And knowing him..." Her sentence slowly trailed off.

Phil nodded slightly, taking a deep breath. "I know what you mean. I'm worried too," he told her. "But Adam knows what he's doing. If he feels he can..."

"That's the thing," Jillian replied, slowly coming to a stop in front of the door and waiting for Phil to do the same. "I've known Adam for a couple years now. He's one of my best friends since Allie's so close to him. I've been around him long enough to know that right now, he's not thinking about himself at all. And that's what worries me." She glanced down at the Y2J that was drawn into the ground for a moment before running her foot over it to smear the lettering.

"That's what happens when you love someone," Phil muttered, looking away from her. "You put them first... and yourself second."

Jillian looked at Phil for a long moment, confusion crossing her face. "Are _you_ okay?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Phil looked back up at her and gave her a small smile, but Jillian noticed his hazel eyes couldn't meet hers. "I've just been thinking a lot, that's all."

"About... what?" Jillian bit her bottom lip. She remembered sitting in her hotel room with Allie and Susannah before everything started, talking about how excited she was when Phil had invited her out to dinner to make up for the fender bender incident. The more she had gotten to know him since then, the more her feelings for him had grown.

Phil ran his hand through his hair as he laughed a little. "Us," he finally said simply. "I mean... what we have. You're a great friend, Jill, and..." His sentence slowly trailed off when Jillian placed her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her toes a little to kiss his lips softly and quickly, the action catching him off guard. She started to back away a little, but Phil wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into another kiss.

They stood that way for a long moment before Phil finally broke it, giving her a small smile as he brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "How did you know?" he asked quietly.

Jillian shrugged as she went back to standing flat on her feet but remained in his arms. "I didn't, not for sure," she answered. "I just thought I'd take the chance and let you know how I felt in hopes that's what you were getting at."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Phil muttered as Jillian wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He placed his chin on top of her head, holding her close. "Because you were right."

Though she returned the smile, Jillian sighed heavily as she tightened her arms around him. "I'm scared, Phil," she said in nearly a whisper.

Phil's gaze saddened as he kissed her head, running his fingers through her hair. "I know, Jill," he replied. "I know."

* * *

Jay looked at Adam with concern as they slowly walked down the dark path along the canal with Allie in front of them. He had his best friend's arm around his neck and his arm around his waist to support him as he limped along, but he could tell it took a lot of effort just to walk as slowly as they were and that he was in a lot of pain.

"Adam, think this through. You need to go to the hospital," Jay muttered. "We'll get Susannah, don't worry. But with you using up all of your strength like this..."

"I know what's going to happen, Jay," Adam told him quietly, his breath coming shortly. "I've known what's been happening to me since before you guys came to that warehouse. But I can assure you, I'm not going to give up until Susannah is away from that monster... I need to know she's safe, Jay. Please try to understand."

Jay sighed. "I'm trying to, Adam," he replied. "But if you get help now, you don't have to worry about your body giving out."

Adam nodded. "I'm fully aware of that. But as I said, it's already hap..." His sentence trailed off as he stopped walking, wincing in pain when he put his hand to his chest as he leaned on Jay more for support for a moment, his voice quieter. "I don't know how much longer I can do this... but it will be until after Susannah's safe. I can promise you that, Jay."

Allie looked over her shoulder when she didn't hear footsteps behind her, and her eyes narrowed with concern. "Are you guys okay?" she asked.

"Fine, Allie," Jay answered her with a smile, the look quickly vanishing as he turned back to Adam.

"I'm not going to just stand by and let you do this to yourself," he hissed. "You are going to the hospital."

But when Jay tried to start walking again, he sighed heavily when Adam didn't budge. "I'm sorry, Jay, I really am," he muttered, an almost resigned smile appearing on his face. "But I'm going to get Susannah first. And then, if I can, I'll go to the hospital. Okay?"

Jay stared down the man he considered to be his brother for a moment longer before looking away. He didn't like this plan. Adam was already in terrible shape, and he was only going to make it worse by pushing himself. But there was no arguing when he was like this. It was with a heavy heart that he reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Okay."

* * *

Chris pulled Susannah along after him until they passed their rental cars and reached the bridge that overlooked the Grand Canal, the moon's rays casting the same beautiful light down on the water as when Adam had brought her there to propose. "All right, this is a good spot," he muttered as he stepped onto the bridge, releasing his grip on her arm.

"What are we doing here?" Susannah wondered, hoping to keep her tears at bay. "You've already forced the ring on me..."

"You're the one who agreed," Chris replied, reaching forward to brush some of her hair behind her ear. But he stopped when she moved her head back. "You need to be a little more cooperative if this is going to work out, Susannah."

Sighing, Susannah glared back at him. "Well, I didn't agree because I _want_ to marry you," she told him. "I thought that was perfectly clear."

Chris just smirked. "Sorry you feel that way." Then, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer, meeting her lips in a kiss.

Susannah immediately tried to pull away. "No, get off!" she snapped, bringing her foot down on his. She yanked her arm away when Chris cried out in pain, taking a couple steps back. Then, she looked down at the ring on her left hand, quickly pulling it off her finger.

"What are you doing?" Chris demanded angrily, reaching forward and taking the ring from her. "You little bit-!" He paused for a moment, fury still shining in his eyes. "Get in the car!"

"No!" But Susannah shrieked when Chris shoved her in the direction where the cars were parked, trying to keep her balance as the man approached her. "Stop!"

"I said-!"

"Chris!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Susannah quickly turned around, a small smile appearing on her face when she saw Adam gingerly walking toward her from the path. He was being supported by Jay with Allie walking close on his other side, but his eyes radiated fury as he looked at Chris. "Adam..." she whispered.

"How very touching that you came for her, Adam," Chris muttered, his eyes gleaming maliciously. "But you're too late." Then, he reached forward and grabbed Susannah's arm again as she took a couple steps toward her boyfriend, pulling her back against him as he put the gun he had threatened Adam with earlier against her head.

"Susannah!" Adam said with worry, his eyes widening as he and Jay stopped walking. Allie gasped, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

"She's mine now, Adam," Chris continued, an almost demented look crossing his face as he slowly started walking backwards with Susannah. "I'm not letting you have her."

Adam shook his head as he kept his gaze on Chris carefully, hearing Susannah's quiet, fearful whimper as he made sure the gun was loaded. "You wouldn't hurt her," he muttered.

Chris laughed quietly, pushing the gun a little harder against his captive's head as he stepped onto the bridge. "Wouldn't I?" he wondered.

"No, you wouldn't," Jay agreed, just as worried about the girl he considered his sister. "You've been watching out for her this entire time. You love her. Why suddenly change now?"

"It's because I love her that I..." Chris sighed as his sentence trailed off, but then his expression hardened as he paused in the center of the bridge. "Susannah, I'm sorry."

"Please, Chris, don't do this," Susannah murmured, watching anxiously as he placed his finger on the trigger. "Please..."

Sighing, Adam pushed himself away from Jay, starting to limp toward them. "You wouldn't hurt Susannah," he said, ignoring the pain he was clearly in. "You couldn't hurt her..."

"Stay back!" Chris shouted as he took a couple more steps back, making Susannah flinch as tears formed in her eyes. "I... I will!"

"No, you won't," Adam told him quietly, using the stone railing for support as he winced when he stepped onto the bridge and continued to walk toward the other man. He paused, sighing heavily as he looked away for a moment before meeting the other man's gaze with determination. "But if you're going to shoot someone, Chris, shoot me. You'll still get what you want, and Susannah doesn't have to get hurt."

Susannah looked at him, horrified. "Adam, don't!" She felt a tear escape from her eye when she saw the loving smile Adam gave her.

Chris' hand started to tremble as he looked down at Susannah's face, watching as a couple more tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at her boyfriend. "I..."

But then, Chris cried out with surprise and lowered the gun when he was suddenly hit from behind. Susannah took the opportunity to pull herself away from Chris, watching with shock as Mike hit him again. She gasped quietly when Anna grabbed her arms and began to bring her toward Jay and Allie as they stepped onto the bridge as well, but she tried to struggle free when she watched Adam run toward the fighting pair.

"No!"

Adam approached Chris, able to pull the gun from his hand and aim it at him. "Mike, back away!" he said anxiously.

Mike immediately moved away from Chris, going over to the others. "Looks like we got here just in time," he commented, wrapping his arm around Anna. Jay nodded in agreement, watching his best friend closely. Chris laughed as he looked at Adam, seeing the weapon was shaking slightly in his hands.

"Do you even have the strength to hold that gun, Adam?" he asked tauntingly with a smirk. "How about pulling the trigger? Will you be able to do that? We were friends, Adam."

"If you give me a reason to," Adam answered quietly, his face set in an expressionless mask, "then yes. I will."

Chris shook his head. "We'll see about that," he muttered, slowly starting to walk toward him. "You must be pretty angry about everything my gang put you through. I don't blame you. I would be too. I mean, you come back after six months of injury... and what do you get? Brutally tortured for a few days. I honestly don't know how you're still standing. Adrenaline? Sheer determination, perhaps?"

"Don't test me," Adam warned quietly, feeling his arms starting to weaken from holding up the gun. But he made sure it remained trained on Chris. "I am not in a generous mood."

"Oh. I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve?" Chris asked sarcastically. Then, he smirked as he glanced at where Susannah was standing close to Jay. "And then, there's that pretty little girlfriend of yours."

Adam took a deep breath when he mentioned her, placing his finger on the trigger. "Don't even..."

Chris just laughed. "How did it feel, Adam?" he wondered in nearly a whisper. "Finding out she was alive and you survived what the gang put you through, only to have to helplessly watch her agree to marry someone else? Must have been painful knowing that you would never get to see her again, to never kiss her again, to never feel her gentle touch again..."

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot echoed in the night air around them. Susannah gasped as her eyes widened in horror, Allie screaming as Jay wrapped his arms tightly around her while Anna grabbed onto Mike. Adam watched impassively as Chris' eyes widened in shock when he looked down at his stomach, seeing the blood beginning to blossom on his shirt. He stumbled back, leaning against the side of the bridge for a moment before teetering over the edge. Adam slowly walked forward, tossing the gun over the side too.

There was no sign of Chris in the water below.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Adam began to step back from the edge of the bridge. But then, he quickly looked back when he was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Chris glaring back up at him. His face was a shade paler, his teeth grit with determination as he held him back. Adam noticed he had grabbed onto a ledge on the side of the bridge when he had fallen, saving him from a watery grave.

"I... I'm not going by myself," Chris muttered, pulling Adam back toward the edge.

Adam reached his free hand out to stop himself as he was pulled forward, trying to keep himself from falling as Chris let go of the bridge. He started to lean over the side despite his efforts, his arm being the only thing holding up the other man, and he could feel his body starting to give out in its weakened state.

"Adam!" Susannah realized something was wrong, and she took a couple steps closer but didn't get far when Jay held her back, about to check on his best friend himself. But before he could, Mike ran forward and stopped next to Adam, his eyes widening when he saw Chris was trying to pull him down. He immediately wrapped an arm around Adam to hold him up, reaching down with his other to try to pry Chris' hands from his arm.

"Don't... don't get involved, Mike," Chris warned through his gasps, glaring up at the younger man.

"Go to hell," Mike told him quietly, returning the glare as he continued to try to pull his hands away from his friend's arm. A slight smile appeared on his face when one of Chris' hands dropped.

But surprisingly, a smirk appeared on Chris' face. "Not alone."

Suddenly, Chris reached into his pocket, and before he realized what was happening, Mike cried out and backed away from the edge when the sharp blade of a pocketknife sliced across his arm. "Damn you!" he shouted angrily, looking at the deep cut in his forearm from the weapon.

"Mike!" Anna shouted with worry, hurrying over to him. Susannah's eyes widened with fear, her eyes on her boyfriend intently.

Adam gripped the edge of the bridge tighter, struggling to hold himself up as he leaned further over the side. He looked down at Chris, who had a triumphant look in his eyes. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Anna was tending to Mike, Allie was looking at him with horror, and Jay was starting to make his way over. His gaze then landed on his girlfriend, and he was suddenly filled with a burst of adrenaline. He turned back to Chris, glaring down at him as he let go of the side of the bridge.

Chris looked up at Adam with shock as the other man leaned down and grabbed his wrist, forcing the knife from his hand. "What the-!"

"She's mine, Chris," Adam growled, using his free hand to pull Chris', the man who had caused him so much pain and suffering, hand away from his arm. He impassively watched as his former friend's eyes widened in fear as he began to fall toward the dark water below. He didn't flinch as he sank beneath the surface, not coming back up. He waited for a moment to catch his breath before he slowly straightened up and took a couple steps back from the edge of the bridge.

Susannah shakily let out the breath she had been holding as tears filled her eyes, the shock slowly wearing off as she began to walk toward her boyfriend. "Adam?"

Hearing his name, Adam slowly turned and watched as she came closer to him. A half-smile appeared on his face as he took a couple steps toward her but stopped. "Susannah... At least I know you're safe," he murmured before turning his weary gaze to Jay. "I'm sorry." Then, his eyes closed as he collapsed to the ground.

"_Adam_!" Susannah ran the rest of the short distance to him, dropping down next to his side as she brushed the hair away from his face. His breathing was shallow and irregular, hardly any color in his cheeks. She placed two fingers on his neck to check for his pulse, her anxiety rising when she could hardly feel it under her fingertips. Then, her anxiousness rose when she watched his green eyes flutter open for a second, a shadow of a smile appearing on his face as they dimmed before they slowly closed. "Adam!"

Jay rushed over as well, having heard his best friend's words as he knelt down on Adam's other side with Allie. "Someone call for an ambulance!" he said anxiously, turning to look at him over his shoulder at the other couple with them. He would have driven Adam to the hospital himself, but he didn't know where it was and time was of the essence.

"Already on it," Mike told him as he continued to look at the cut on his arm, on his feet again with his phone at his ear as he began to restlessly pace. "Yes, I need an ambulance..." His sentence trailed off as he suddenly stopped walking. "Um, hold on please." He placed his hand over the receiver as he turned to his girlfriend. "Anna, find a street sign or something to find out where the hell we are!"

Anna, who was on the phone with Jillian, started to look around for some sort of indication of where they were. "Yeah, Adam shot Chris," she was explaining with tears in her eyes. "I think Chris tried pulling him off the bridge. And then he just collapsed..."

Susannah carefully lifted Adam's head and cradled it against her chest, tears streaming freely from her eyes. "Adam, stay with me," she whispered, holding him close. "Please... hang in there. Adam, please..."

Jay placed his hand securely on Susannah's shoulder as sobs shook her, looking down at Adam's pale face sadly. "He held on long enough to get to you," he muttered, a thin line of tears forming in his own eyes. "He knew he wasn't going to last... But he told me he wasn't going to give up until he knew you were safe."

"Give up?" Allie repeated, looking at her boyfriend through tear-filled eyes. "Is that what you guys were talking about on the way here? What did he mean by that?"

"He meant he knew he was dying," Susannah answered for Jay, the last word piercing her heart as she ran her fingers through Adam's hair. That was all she was able to say as more tears overtook her. What he said to her at the warehouse was still weighing heavily on her mind, and she realized he knew even then that he wasn't going to make it after what he had been put through.

"Adam must feel like he can just... give up now that..." Jay whispered, not able to finish as a single tear escaped from his eye and shook his head.

Allie leaned into Jay, resting her head on his chest as she cried. "Adam's not going to die... is he?"

Jay pulled his girlfriend closer. "He'd better not," he replied angrily, his voice rising. "Damn it, why the hell did he have to wait to get help? If he only would have done what I suggested, or if I had been more insistent..."

"In no way is this your fault, Jay," Allie muttered, sitting up and carefully placing her hand on his cheek so she wouldn't hurt his sore jaw. "Don't you _dare_ start blaming yourself."

"But if I could have just-!"

"You know damn well it wouldn't have made any difference," Allie interrupted firmly, giving him a kind smile as more tears formed in her eyes and her tone softened. "You know Adam. He wouldn't have gone to the hospital anyway... At least, not until Susannah was away from Chris."

Jay took a deep, calming breath. "You're right," he said with a slight nod. "You're right, Allie... We just need the ambulance to get here."

"It should be here in a couple minutes," Mike told him as he and Anna walked over to them. "It's on the way."

"Good." Jay looked back at Susannah as she held Adam close, his expression saddening. He hoped his best friend had enough strength left in him to hold on for just a little while longer.

"After what I did for you... you're not dying on me now," Susannah whispered, kissing his forehead. "Adam, please... Don't you dare... You can't leave me... Not after what happened..."

Then, they all heard the sirens approaching, and Jay sighed with relief as the ambulance stopped at the base of the bridge. The paramedics hurried over to them, and Jay had to pull Susannah away from Adam as they checked his vitals before a stretcher was brought over. Susannah held onto the man she considered her brother tightly as he wrapped one arm around her, holding Allie's hand with his other as she grabbed his arm. He stepped back a little with both of them, Mike and Anna following after to give them some room to help their friend.

"Do one or two of you want to ride with him to the hospital?" one of the paramedics asked while another put an oxygen mask on Adam. "We need to ask some questions."

"Um, I will," Jay answered quietly, still in some shock as he watched the rest of the team rush his best friend to the ambulance. "I don't know how much information I can give since we don't know too much about what happened, but I'll do what I can."

The paramedic nodded. "Are you related to this man?"

Jay sighed. "Close enough," he told him. "He's practically my brother."

"Okay, then," the paramedic replied, looking at the rest of the group. "Anyone else coming?"

There was a moment of silence before Susannah took a deep breath and wiped her tears away. "I will," she muttered.

"Are you related to this man?" the paramedic repeated the question.

Susannah shook her head. "No, I'm his girl... fiancee."

"All right. Both of you come with me, then," the paramedic said. "We'll do the rest of the questions on the way to the hospital."

Jay looked down at Allie as the paramedic walked away, giving her a small smile. "I'll meet you at the hospital," he muttered, brushing some hair out of her face before softly kissing her.

Allie nodded, squeezing his hand before she let go of it. "It'll be okay," she replied despite the tears shining in her eyes. "I love you, Jay."

"I love you too. See the rest of you there." Then, Jay turned his attention to Susannah as they both began to walk toward the ambulance while Mike and Anna backed away from it a little with Allie as they watched them climb in the back with Adam. He just hoped they weren't too late.

**Author's Note**: (hides) I hope they're not too late either. Remember to expect anything! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing associated with the WWE.

**Author's Note**: Um, yeah, sorry for the terrible cliffhanger, lol! Okay, so this is the actual last chapter, but there will be two more updates after this. Is Edge okay? Read on to find out!

_Chapter 17_

Jay sighed heavily as he watched Susannah pace the narrow hallway in front of the large window of the room where doctors were frantically trying to stabilize Adam, his eyes narrowing sadly when he saw the silent tears running down her cheeks. He stood not too far away from her as he kept the ice pack the paramedics had given him on his jaw, his arm wrapped tightly around Allie, while Mike and Anna sat in a couple chairs against the wall, looking over his now bandaged forearm. They were all in shock about Adam's sudden collapse, but after the torture they could only imagine he had endured, it shouldn't have been too surprising for his body to give out.

Then, Jay's eyes narrowed slightly. Chris had come close to taking his best friend when he had grabbed his arm and nearly pulled him over the bridge with him. He was relieved for Mike's quick thinking, though the younger man had paid for it, but he couldn't help but worry that it had claimed the last of Adam's much needed strength to pull through.

Susannah then slowly came to a stop, lightly placing her left hand on the glass and looking heartbrokenly at her boyfriend's pale, expressionless face as the doctors worked quickly around him. She felt her breath catch in her chest, and she wrapped her other arm around herself almost in a protective way to try to shield herself from the powerful emotions running rampant inside her.

Anna looked at the other girl with a heavy sigh, not able to even begin to conceive what she was going through. But then, her eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed her hand. "Be right back," she muttered to Mike, squeezing his hand before she let go and got to her feet. She walked over to the other girl and placed her hand gently on her shoulder so she wouldn't startle her. "Hey, Susannah."

But she sighed when Susannah didn't even look at her, her tear-filled eyes not leaving Adam. "Where's your ring?" Anna asked, hoping to get her talking even for a minute. "I thought Chris would have given it to you."

Susannah slowly moved her gaze away from her boyfriend to look at Anna before shaking her head. "I don't know," she answered in nearly a whisper. "I took it off my finger before Adam, Jay, and Allie found us, but Chris took it from me. It was probably with him when he... fell..."

"I'm sorry," Anna muttered sadly, dropping her gaze. "That must be hard..."

"A little," Susannah admitted with a sigh, lowering her hand from the window. "But yet... When it was put on me that time, it was by Chris, not Adam... So..."

Anna nodded slightly. "Yeah, I know," she agreed quietly. "But I'm sure you would have liked to still have it since Adam gave it to you originally."

Susannah laughed a little as more tears leaked from her eyes, trying to hold them back. "Of course I would..." She had to pause for a moment, biting down hard on her bottom lip as a fresh wave of sobs threatened to overtake her. "But... Adam..."

Not knowing what she could say in a form of comfort, Anna simply wrapped her arm around Susannah's tense shoulders. She was almost relieved when Jay walked over to them, resting his hand on her arm.

"It's okay, Susannah," Jay said, pulling the girl he considered his younger sister to his side as Anna released her. "Adam's strong. He'll pull through this." He hated saying something so surely when he wasn't sure if his best friend would survive, though he hoped and prayed with every fiber of his being that he would, but he had to do _something_ since his heart was breaking just looking at the girl.

Susannah clung to Jay tightly and rested her head on his chest while Anna went back to sit by Mike, surprisingly finding some comfort having him so close. "I hope so, Jay," she whispered, taking a deep, steadying breath. "I hope so..."

Then, they heard quick footsteps coming closer, and Jay looked up to see Phil and Jillian hurrying toward them. "How's Adam?" the girl asked, sorrow crossing her face as she wrapped an arm behind the shaken Susannah.

"Not good," Allie answered her sister while Phil slowly walked over to the window to watch what was happening. "They're trying to stabilize him now."

Jillian glanced at Phil, noticing the stony expression on his face as he looked at one of his good friends, and sighed as she tightened her arm around Susannah. "I knew this was going to happen..." she muttered. "Hang in there." Susannah only nodded.

Suddenly, they heard Phil gasp, and Susannah quickly turned to face him. "What?" she wondered frantically, moving out from under Jay's arms to stand next to him with Jillian.

Phil slowly shook his head, his intense hazel eyes not leaving the heart monitor Adam was hooked up to. "I don't know," he replied with a sigh. "For a minute, it looked like his heart had-!"

But he was abruptly cut off when the green lines monitoring Adam's heartbeat suddenly went flat.

"_No_!" The shock wore off quickly for Susannah, and she started to run for the door that led to the other room. But she was stopped by Jay's arms wrapping tightly around her to hold her back. "No! Let me go! Adam!"

Mike and Anna immediately got up and ran to the window to join them, watching with horror as the doctors prepared to try to get Adam's heart started again. Phil and Jillian looked on with disbelief, the latter grabbing his hand tightly while Allie covered her mouth as tears rolled freely down her cheeks. Jay kept a restraining hold on Susannah, feeling his own tears threatening to fall as she tried to fight out of it.

"Adam! No, please! Adam!"

The group watched as one of the doctors pounded on Adam's chest, hoping to spur his heart back into working, but to no avail. The green lines on the monitor remained flat, almost as if they were taunting them. Tears streamed from Susannah's eyes as she continued to try to get herself free from Jay's arms. She had to get to him.

Jay cringed as they tried the first setting of electrical charge to get his best friend's heart started, sighing when he saw it still had no effect. He glanced back at his girlfriend, having to blink repeatedly to keep his own tears from falling when he saw she was silently crying. "Don't you dare leave us, Adam," he whispered to himself, turning to look back at his best friend. "Not after all this... Don't you leave us now."

But he felt dread course through him when he saw the heart monitor was still flat. They had to get Adam's heart started soon, or else...

Phil gripped the windowsill so tightly his knuckles were turning white, his slightly narrowed eyes on Adam intently. "Don't do this, Man," he muttered. "Don't give up now."

Anna tightened her hold on Mike's hand as the doctors increased the charge, relieved when he wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the struggling Susannah, hoping that Adam's heart would restart. But again, there was nothing.

"Adam, please, don't do this!" Susannah said, giving up on trying to get out of Jay's arms since his hold on her was too strong as she started trembling. "Adam!"

Jillian sighed heavily, wincing as she watched the head doctor signal to increase the charge one more time. She hated to admit it since he was a good friend of hers, but it wasn't looking good. "I'm sorry," she said as tears filled her eyes, looking at Susannah sadly and placing her hand on her arm with her free hand. "I really am..."

"Let's not lose hope yet," Jay replied, praying that somehow, Adam would be strong enough to pull through. "I'm not giving up on him." But even he had to silently admit to himself that things weren't going in the right direction when his best friend's heart didn't respond to the third charge.

Then, Phil turned away from the window and hung his head when the head doctor signaled to cut the power. Jillian wrapped her arms around him tightly, taking a deep, shuddering breath as a couple tears fell from her eyes, while Mike held his girlfriend closer. Jay watched with horror as the rest of the doctors shook their heads at each other, knowing they were going to stop trying to get Adam's heart restarted. Allie's sobs continued to shake her as she covered her face, not able to look at the lifeless form of the man she considered to be her older brother, while Susannah went eerily still in Jay's arms, her tear-filled eyes not leaving Adam's face.

They had lost him.

_"I'll never... leave you..."_

"No..." Susannah whispered, refusing to believe that Adam was dead. "You said you wouldn't leave..." She placed her hand on her stomach when a wave of nausea swarmed through her, and she slumped in Jay's arms.

"Susannah!" Jay supported her as he knelt down on the ground, pulling Susannah close to him. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed, hardly noticing as Allie dropped to her knees next to them and wrapped her arms around her devastated boyfriend.

"Please... bring him back," Susannah murmured through her tears, her breathing short and uneven. "Please, Jay... Bring him back..." Her words made a nearly silent sob escape from Jay since it was something he wished he could do but knew he couldn't.

The doctor nearest the door noticed the sudden movements out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly walked over and opened it to check on the group. "Is she okay?" he asked, looking at Susannah on the floor, only sitting up because of Jay's support, with concern.

"She... She'll be fine," Jay answered, his voice choked up by the tears now rolling freely down his cheeks. "The man in there... He's her fiance."

"Oh." The doctor looked at the sobbing girl sadly. "I'm very sorry for your loss. We tried, but his body was just too weak to support him."

Susannah slowly looked up when she heard the doctor's words, still not accepting them. She looked past him into the other room, her eyes landing on Adam's blank expression. "_Adam_!" she screamed.

Jillian let go of Phil at the sound and knelt down on Susannah's other side, placing her hands on her shoulders securely in hopes of helping to comfort her while Anna did the same. They looked at their friend sadly, having never seen her so vulnerable. For most of the time when Adam had been missing, she had stayed strong.

Phil stayed by the window, looking at Adam with his jaw set firmly. "Adam, come on, Man..."

"I... I can't believe this..." Mike muttered as he walked forward to stand next to him, suddenly having to fight the urge to punch the wall. "He can't be..."

Sighing as he ran his hand through his hair in shock, Phil slowly turned to look sadly at Mike. But then, he gasped when he heard a couple quiet beeps, and he turned his attention back to the room. "Wait... Look!"

Jay looked up at Phil's sudden change in tone, his eyes widening with disbelief as the doctors hurried back to the bed. The lines of the heart monitor were slowly moving. It was faint, but Adam's heart had started beating again. "How..."

"I don't know," Allie muttered, trying to wipe her tears away as she got to her feet. "But... his heart started."

Susannah wrapped her arm around Jay's neck, allowing him to help her to her feet as the rest of the group approached the window to watch as the doctors turned their attention back to stabilizing Adam. More tears filled her eyes and her legs still felt weak beneath her when she saw the lines of the heart monitor were truly no longer flat, but this time, it was because of the nearly overpowering sense of relief.

Jillian smiled as she took Susannah's hand, letting out the breath she had been holding. "Do you believe in miracles?" she wondered.

"If I didn't before... I definitely do now," Susannah replied quietly, a smile appearing on her own face as she tightened her fingers around Jillian's, eyes only on Adam. The couple quiet beeps picking up his heartbeat was one of the best sounds she had ever heard.

xxx

Susannah gasped quietly as her eyes snapped open when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, having to squint a bit in the bright sunlight flooding into the waiting room. "What-!"

"Shh," Jay said gently with a small smile, kneeling down on the floor in front of her. "It's okay, Susannah."

After a moment of willing her heart to return to its normal rate, Susannah looked around at the other chairs that had been set up in the waiting room for them the night before, seeing that Allie was still asleep in the one next to her. Anna and Mike were both still sound asleep, wrapped in each other's arms. Jillian was sleeping leaning against Phil's chest with his arm wrapped around her, running his hand absently through her hair while he silently looked at Susannah and Jay. She had tried to stay awake so she could hear any news on Adam's condition, but she hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days and knew how exhausted she was.

"Have you heard anything, Jay?" Susannah asked quietly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Jay nodded. He looked exhausted, and she knew he must have stayed awake all night and wished she could have done the same. "I have," he answered, the smile on his face lingering. When he saw the anxious look in Susannah's eyes, he laughed a little. "It's okay, it's good news. Adam's been stabilized and is resting easily. They monitored him through the rest of the night and, though they're surprised, haven't noticed any major setbacks. He's going to be okay. Something's keeping him going."

Susannah stared at Jay with shock as the words slowly sunk in, and she took a deep breath as she tried to keep the tears of relief back that rushed to her eyes. "He's... really going to be okay?" she repeated.

"Yes," Jay told her, placing his hand securely on her arm. "Even after looking him over, though, they can't tell what exactly happened to him. Only Adam knows that."

The thought of what the man she loved had to endure broke her heart, but Susannah smiled and laughed a little as she blinked her tears away. At least he was going to be okay. "When can we see him?" she wondered.

"They're allowing one visitor to see him now since he's still sleeping," Jay replied. "I thought you should be the one."

Susannah looked at the man she considered to be her brother for a long moment before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Thanks, Jay," she said in nearly a whisper, relief swarming through her as a single tear escaped from her eye.

Jay kissed the side of her head before pulling away, wiping away the stray tear. "Go on," he muttered with a smile, helping her to her feet before he sat down next to his sleeping girlfriend and wrapped his arm around her. "Tell Adam hi for us."

"I will." Susannah returned the smile before she turned and walked over to the desk. "Adam Copeland?"

The blonde nurse standing behind the desk nodded, a pleasant smile on her face. "Right this way, dear."

Susannah followed the nurse across the waiting room and through a door that led to the many rooms, her anxieties calming a bit further by the nurse's kind demeanor. She walked silently behind her as she led her down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of the door that had a worn number 30 on it. "Here we are," the nurse said, placing her hand on Susannah's arm. "I suggest talking to him. You never know if he'll hear you."

"Okay, thank you." Susannah watched as the nurse walked back down the hallway, the sound of the heels echoing as she disappeared around the corner. Then, she took a deep breath as she turned the handle and pushed the door open, entering the room.

Adam was leaning back against the propped up bed, his breathing short and light but at least even. Susannah shut the door behind her before slowly crossing the room, hesitantly sitting down on the bed next to him. She reached forward and gently brushed some of his hair out of his face, noticing his expression was peaceful instead of blank like it had been the previous night. Sighing, she lightly placed her hand on his cheek, which had a little more color to it than it had, so she could see the small improvements.

But on the other hand, she could also see the evidence left over from the torture. The cuts and the bruises on his face and upper body, the "Y2J" etched into the skin of his right arm, and of course his missing left ring finger. Susannah bit her lip as she began to run her fingers through his hair again, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes.

"What did they do to you?" Susannah whispered, trying to blink the tears back as she ran her thumb lightly over a bruise above his right eye. Then, remembering what the nurse had told her, she took a deep breath as she tried to think of what she could say to him.

"Hey, Adam. It's Susannah," she finally said. "Jay and everyone else say hi. I'm just so glad you're okay... We thought we lost you last night. I just wanted to thank you for... for saving my life. You know I only agreed to marry Chris to save you... If you would have... died because of what you did for me, I don't know what I would have done... It was stupid of you, but... thank you anyway. I just don't know what I would have done if I would have lost you because of that..."

Then, she sighed and shook her head. "God, now I'm rambling..." Susannah muttered with a slight laugh, blinking her tears back. "I just have so much going through my mind it's crazy... You know how I am. I don't know if you can even hear me, Adam, but I love you... so, so much... I can't wait to see you when you wake up. I'll be here waiting."

Sighing, Susannah watched for any sign that Adam had heard a word she had said, but there was nothing. More tears rose to her eyes as she continued to run her fingers through his hair, not minding how long she had to wait. A single tear fell from her eye, and she used her sleeve to wipe it away. But more quickly replaced it, and she soon found herself quietly crying as all of the emotion that had been kept inside of her came out.

"Adam..."

"... I heard you... Don't cry..."

Susannah gasped and looked down at Adam again when she heard his quiet voice, seeing his head had turned a little in her direction, but there was no other indication that he was actually awake. "Addy?" she asked, reaching forward again and placing her hand lightly on the side of his face.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Adam's mouth, and a long moment later, his eyes slowly fluttered open, his weary gaze finding her face. "Susannah..." he whispered hoarsely.

Trying to hold back her tears, Susannah laughed a little as she smiled back at him, running her thumb gently over his cheek. "Hey, welcome back," she muttered, trying to keep her tone light. "You heard me?"

"I did," Adam replied with a weak nod. "I heard everything... you just said. I know it was... stupid to do, but... I love you, Susannah, and..."

Susannah stopped him by placing her finger on his lips. "You don't have to explain it to me," she told him kindly. "I'm just relieved you didn't leave me... I thought for sure we had lost you... We all did."

Adam looked at her for a moment before his gaze moved down to his right hand, his fingers reaching forward until they lightly wrapped around Susannah's free one. "I couldn't... leave you," he murmured. "I... heard you then too..."

"You..." Susannah's sentence trailed off as she thought about the night before. She remembered how Adam had flatlined and nothing could seem to get his heart started again. She had screamed his name once one of the doctors had come to check on her, and the door had been open. She didn't know how it was possible, but if what Adam said was true, he had somehow heard her.

"It's over now," she quickly said, tightening her hand around his. "What's done is done. You're here and we're together. That's all that matters." Then, Susannah hesitated slightly. "How are you feeling?"

Adam laughed weakly. "Well, I've been better," he replied. "But waking up to my beautiful girl makes it that much more bearable."

Susannah couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. He was starting to get just a little stronger every minute. "Yeah, it could have been worse, huh?" she muttered.

"Damn right." Adam gave her a small smirk. "It could have been Jay. No offense to the guy, he's my brother and all, but he's not the face I'd say I'd like to wake up to."

Hearing some traces of his humor starting to slip back into his tone made Susannah's heart swell with relief. That was always a good sign. "You have a good point there," she laughed.

Adam quickly raised his eyebrows at her. "Don't tell him I said that."

"Don't worry, I won't." Then, Susannah's smile slowly vanished when Adam closed his eyes, sighing as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I love you," she whispered, lingering close to him.

A smile slowly spread across Adam's face as his eyes opened again, and he tightened his hand around hers slightly as he met her lips in a soft kiss. "I love you too," he muttered. "That's why I'm here, believe me." But then, he turned his head as he looked around the room.

"What are you looking for?" Susannah asked.

"Jay's sweatshirt..." Adam answered quietly, spotting it hanging over the chair near the door. "Hey, Susannah. Could you go check in the right pocket?"

"Sure." Though she was confused about why, Susannah got to her feet and walked over to the chair. She reached into the right pocket of the sweatshirt and felt around for what was in there, and she paused when her fingers brushed over something small, cool, and metallic.

Adam gave her a small smile when he saw the look that crossed her face. "I take it you found it," he said.

"Yeah..." Susannah grabbed the small object and pulled it out, seeing that a silver, flower-patterned diamond ring was resting in her palm. It was her engagement ring. "You... you had it?"

"I took it from Chris when I grabbed the gun," Adam explained, the smile lingering on his face. "I had that made for you special. I wasn't going to let him keep it."

More tears appeared in Susannah's eyes as she looked down at the ring in her hand. It hadn't been lost after all. "Adam, I don't know what..." she began, her sentence trailing off when she got choked up by her tears.

"Come here, Susannah," Adam muttered, laughing a little.

After she got her tears more under control, Susannah walked back to the bed and sat down next to Adam, setting the ring in his hand when he held it out to her. Sighing, Adam took her hand with his free one, staring into her eyes.

"Marry me?" he asked quietly.

Susannah smiled as she looked back at him Everything he had wanted to say to her had already been said. "You know my answer," she murmured, blinking her tears away.

Adam returned the smile, sliding the ring on her left finger. Susannah looked down at it, a broad smile appearing on her face since it was once again where it was supposed to be and put there by the right person. Then, Adam reached forward and brushed some of his fiancee's hair behind her ear before bringing her into a soft kiss. Susannah placed her hand on his chest, the kiss becoming more intense when she allowed him to deepen it as he set his other hand on her hip. By the way his lips moved along with hers almost greedily, she knew the same fear had been on his mind over the past few days that had plagued her own thoughts and nightmares.

They had both been afraid they wouldn't have another moment like this together. But it was when she ran her hand through Adam's hair, his arm wrapping securely around her waist, that Susannah knew everything was going to be okay.

xxx

The group stayed in the hospital for a few more days until Adam was physically strong enough to leave on his own power since he refused the help of a wheelchair. They went to the airport, all sore and exhausted from the long, hellish few days, and made their way to their seats near the back of the plane. Almost twenty minutes later, they were up in the air and on the way home.

Adam tore his gaze away from the window when he felt a hand on his arm that was wrapped around the sleeping Susannah against him, seeing Jay was leaning on his seat. "What's up, Man?" he asked quietly so he wouldn't wake her.

Jay glanced down at the girl he considered his sister before turning back to his best friend. "Just wanted to see how you were doing," he answered.

"I'm doing all right," Adam muttered. "Tired. Sore. But that's to be expected."

"Yeah," Jay agreed quietly as he sat on the other side of Susannah. "Must be a relief to be going home, huh?"

Adam nodded. "I'm just relieved I'm able to go home," he replied quietly, almost thoughtfully. "And I'm also glad Vince isn't making any of you stay either. I know these last few days have been hard on you guys too, which I'm sorry about."

Jay sighed as he met his best friend's gaze. "Don't be ridiculous, Adam, that wasn't your fault," he told him. "How could you know Chris was going to..." He stopped mid-sentence, lowering his gaze.

"You okay?" Adam wondered, a bit concerned.

"Fine," Jay said, though his expression told otherwise. "I just..." He paused and took a deep breath, what appeared to be a lot of inner frustration he had kept inside finally coming out. "If I would have known it was Chris, I would have done something. But never did I think..."

"Jay, it's all right..." Adam began, trying to calm him down.

"No, Adam, it's not all right," Jay interrupted, an angry gleam in his eye. "I could have done something a lot sooner. Because of him, I almost lost my best friend. Don't you understand that? If Chris would have taken you from us, Adam..." He once again stopped, unable to finish his sentence.

Adam stared at the other man for a long moment, a thin line of tears forming in his eyes as he turned away and looked out the window. Jay looked at the back of his head, forcing his own tears back. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, Jay," Adam muttered, slowly turning back to look at the other man once his tears were gone. "It's just... I don't want you putting anything that happened to me on yourself. You don't deserve that. As you said, how could you know what Chris was going to do? There was nothing you could have done to prevent that, Jay."

Jay gave him a sad smile. "I wish I could have," he said quietly. "But at least you're still here."

"I wasn't going to let Chris win," Adam assured him with a small smile of his own.

"Neither were we."

Then, both men looked up when they heard someone approach, watching as Phil sat down across from them. Adam looked back across the aisle, seeing Allie, Jillian, and Anna were laughing about something, but Mike was looking at the Straightedge Superstar warily.

"Hey, Phil," Jay greeted. "What's going on?"

Phil gave them a small smile. "Nothing too much," he said, the smile waning as Adam met his gaze. "I was just... I was just thinking you'd like to know what I found out about Chris."

"What do you mean?" Adam wondered, his gaze faltering.

Sighing, Phil leaned forward a little while Jay did the same. "Well, I had been suspicious of Chris for quite some time," he explained quietly. "I noticed he would keep to himself a lot, go off somewhere without explantation, was getting close to Susannah, that sort of thing. But it was a phone call I overheard that really started making me believe he knew something or was even part of it, and getting... that package just cemented it."

"What kind of phone call?" Jay asked, seeing Adam had looked away at the mention of the package.

Phil tightened his ponytail as he sighed. "It really wasn't much," he answered. "But he was basically talking to someone about who he addressed as 'he.' Looking back, I know it was Adam." He saw Adam look at him out of the corner of his eye. "But something was wrong, and Chris sounded angry. Said he'd be there to take care of him."

Adam sighed, looking down at his right arm. It was covered by his jacket sleeve, but he knew the lettering was there. "I was sick one night," he told them in a voice hardly above a whisper, both Phil and Jay leaning a bit closer to him to hear what he said. "Fever. Chris was there. I heard him. At first I thought it was a dream, but of course it wasn't." Jay set his hand on his arm securely.

"After that, I kept my eye on Chris," Phil continued when Adam didn't say anything more. "And after I started being blamed, I could see Chris was doing what he could to fuel it. So I supposedly left, once again to keep my eye on him. Plus, I knew you guys would find the video clues soon, so I had to be ready."

"Wait, supposedly left?" Jay repeated. "Where were you?"

Phil smirked. "Outside the hotel in my rental car," he told him. "That's how I found you guys. I followed you to the warehouse from a distance."

Jay laughed a little, shaking his head slightly. "So when everyone was blaming you when you left that one day when Mike and Anna got attacked..."

"I really was back in my hotel room that night, I just didn't talk to anyone," Phil replied. "I left because I had to meet with Vince about changes in my storyline. Nothing too important. It was just a lot to think about, especially with what was going on with Adam."

Adam looked at the dark-haired man carefully. "So, did you find out anything more about why Chris would... do this?" he wondered.

Phil turned to him, his gaze darkening slightly. "When Jill and I went back to the warehouse, the guy with long hair was waking up. He was angry with Chris for how things turned out, so he gave us some information," he explained. "We found out Chris was involved with this organized crime group for some time. Basically, they would gain money through WWE for his wins. But when you came back for the Rumble and ended up winning instead of Chris, they lost a lot of money. So, taking you was to repay that."

Adam sighed as he looked down at Susannah, glad she was still asleep as he gently pulled her closer. "I never knew he was involved with that group," he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Even when we were a tag team. I mean, he was always a decent guy. I never thought he'd be involved with money laundering." He paused for a moment. "Never thought he felt so strong about Susannah where he'd..."

Jay exchanged a sad look with Phil. "Hey, at least you still have her," the latter said, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Chris couldn't come between you guys."

A slight smile appeared on Adam's face as well as he closed his eyes for a minute. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed quietly.

Seeing how tired his best friend was, Jay sighed as he got to his feet, Phil doing the same a minute later, and placed his hand on Adam's arm when he looked up at him curiously. "Rest up, Man. You need it."

"We'll see." Adam smiled slightly as he watched his best friend cross the aisle with Phil to where the rest of the group was sitting before sighing and closing his eyes again, resting his head against Susannah's. He was exhausted, there was no denying that, but he had no intention of sleeping. Not when thoughts of what had happened to him were still so clear in his mind. He was just glad he had his fiancee so close to make the long flight home easier.

Then, he opened his eyes when he felt Susannah begin to stir, raising his head and watching as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. "Adam?"

"I'm right here," Adam murmured, kissing her forehead as he ran his hand up and down her arm in a comforting way. "I haven't gone anywhere."

Susannah rubbed her tired eyes, giving Adam a small smile before she sighed. "I had this dream where you just... disappeared," she told him quietly, wrapping her arms carefully but securely around his waist. "You were with me, and when I turned my head for a minute, you were gone."

Adam looked at her with concern before tightening his arm around her. "Well, I'm not leaving you," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "I promise."

"I guess I'm just... afraid of losing you again," Susannah muttered, shaking her head as she laughed a little. "I just can't..."

"Shh." Adam smiled, brushing his thumb lightly over her cheek. "You can't get rid of me that easily," he told her, leaning down and sealing his words with a soft kiss on her lips.

Susannah smiled when they parted, pushing some of his hair out of his face. Then, she turned around when she felt someone on the seat behind her, her smile broadening when Jay pulled her into a tight hug. Allie wrapped her arms around a grinning Adam from behind while Jillian hugged both him and Susannah, and Phil, Anna, and Mike circled around them.

In the midst of people surrounding her, Susannah turned to look at her fiance, seeing the smile on his face as he looked around at all of their friends. Feeling her eyes on him, Adam turned to meet her gaze, his smile broadening as he reached over and took her hand. Susannah laughed quietly as a thin line of tears formed in her eyes, tightening her fingers around his. Even after all he had been through, she could see signs of the man she loved in his green eyes. After everything, he was still her Adam.

"I love you," she murmured, forcing her tears back.

Adam smiled, bringing her hand closer and kissing her fingers. "I love you too."

Jay watched them, a small smile appearing on his face as he glanced at Allie. "After all of that, it'll be good to get home," he stated.

Sighing, Adam turned to look at his best friend, thoughts of what happened while in Italy quickly flashing through his mind. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block them out. Then, he gasped quietly and opened his eyes again when he felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder, seeing Susannah was looking at him with concern. He gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to Jay. "I'm just glad I'm alive."

Jay met Adam's exhausted green eyes, seeing the hints of fear in them slowly starting to vanish. It was clear what he had gone through was still deeply impacting him, which he wasn't surprised about. The man he considered to be his brother had been tortured for a few days, and he just wished he could have done something differently to find him sooner. He almost brought himself to ask if he wanted to talk about it, but when he watched as Adam turned back to Susannah, he knew now wasn't a good time to discuss it, not when he was reunited with the love of his life and surrounded by those who cared about him as they made their way home.

He knew he would open up about it when he was ready.

"So are we, Adam," Jay muttered, mainly to himself. "So are we."

**Author's Note**: Okay, yeah, so I'm not mean enough to kill off anyone... yet ;) Lol! So, there will be two more updates! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	19. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing from WWE.

**Author's Note**: Okay, this is the second to last update for this story! Thanks for joining me with this story, guys, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hope you like this too!

_Epilogue_

Adam slowly opened his eyes when the sunlight sneaking in through the blinds hit them, taking a deep breath as he turned onto his back. He was glad his first night home from Italy had been dreamless, probably due to exhaustion. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten any sleep. He had also spent quite a bit of the night with Susannah, which probably hadn't hurt either.

He rubbed his tired eyes before slowly turning to look at where she was asleep, blinking with surprise when he saw she was no longer in bed next to him. Adam propped himself up on his arms, looking around their room with confusion. It was a rare occasion his fiancee was up before him. Wondering what she was doing, he sat up completely and grabbed the shorts he wore for sleeping and slipped them on before getting out of bed. He then put on a black tank top from the closet and made up their bed before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Susannah was in the kitchen, and when he got closer, Adam could hear she was talking on her cell phone. "So, when are you thinking?" she asked whoever was on the other line. There was a slight pause where she nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Okay, yeah, see you then. Bye."

"Who were you talking to?" Adam wondered, leaning against the kitchen doorway.

Not expecting the sudden voice, Susannah jumped as she set her phone on the counter. "What the... Adam!"

Adam laughed a little as he walked into the kitchen and approached his startled fiancee. "Sorry to scare you," he muttered, wrapping his arms around her when she attempted to glare at him. "I was just wondering what you were doing since I'm usually the first one up."

Despite herself, Susannah felt a smile spread across her face as she carefully hugged him back, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him. "Just making a phone call. Nothing too important," she said. "Sorry I woke you."

"That's okay. It was just weird waking up without you there." Adam ran his hand through Susannah's hair. "So, nothing too important?"

Susannah bit her lip slightly as she shook her head. "Nope," she confirmed.

Adam recognized the nervous gesture, but he hid it behind a smile as he leaned down and caught her lips in a kiss. "All right then," he muttered. "Have you had anything to eat yet this morning?"

"No, I was waiting for you," Susannah told him. It was their first morning home, and she wanted to make it special for him. "Anything you want in particular, Addy? I'll make it for you. Whatever you want."

"Hmm..." Adam narrowed his eyes slightly in mock thought before winking. "An omelet with cheese and Canadian bacon."

Susannah rolled her eyes. "Don't press your luck," she said. She couldn't make an omelet to save her life, and he knew it. "If you want that, you can make it."

Adam laughed a little, pulling her closer. "Nah, I'm just kidding," he replied, resting his chin on top of her head as he truthfully thought about what he wanted. "Remember that one vacation we took when I was out on injury, and that bed and breakfast had banana pancakes? That sounds good if you'd want to attempt it..."

"Only if you let me look up a recipe for it online and you help me," Susannah told him. Cooking wasn't her strongest point, but she could at least make pancakes. It would just be fun cooking with her fiance.

"Deal."

Susannah smiled up at him. "All right, let me grab my laptop." She stood on her toes and gave him another kiss before moving out from under his arms, going back upstairs to get her computer from their room. Adam watched her leave before going to the refrigerator and pouring himself a glass of milk. He took a sip, leaning against the kitchen counter next to Susannah's phone. He glanced down at it, wondering who she had been talking to when he had come downstairs.

But before he could dwell on it, Susannah came back into the kitchen with her Mac, setting it down on the counter on her fiancé's other side. "All right, so banana pancakes..." she muttered. Adam wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and watched as she searched for the recipe. They both read it over when she pulled it up. "Doesn't seem too hard."

"Nope," Adam agreed, taking another sip of milk. "I'm sure we could do that."

Susannah glanced at him. "You never know when it comes to us," she reminded him. "But this seems simple enough."

Adam nodded. "So, what are we waiting for?" he asked.

Susannah shrugged, a smile appearing on her face as she took the glass of milk from his hand and took a sip before setting it on the counter. She raised her eyebrows quickly before turning and opening the refrigerator to get what they would need to make the pancakes. Adam looked after her, shaking his head slightly as he laughed quietly.

About twenty minutes later, the couple was sitting at the table with their pancakes, Adam wiping off some batter Susannah had wiped on his cheek with her finger. "And you wonder why we have a hard time cooking anything," he muttered, a smile on his face as he set the napkin aside.

"I don't know why you're complaining, Addy. You got your revenge," Susannah reminded him, still able to feel where he had tickled her sides.

Adam winked at her as he took a sip of milk. "I'm not complaining, I'm just pointing out a fact," he told her.

Susannah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, it makes cooking more fun," she replied, taking a bite of her pancakes. Then, she picked up her phone to check the time. "When we're done, I think I'm gonna start getting ready."

"Do you have anything planned for today?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, well, you never know," Susannah answered with a shrug. "Plus I don't want to stay in my pajamas all day."

Adam looked at his fiancee carefully. "You sure you have nothing planned for today?" he repeated.

Susannah met his gaze. "Yeah," she said offhandedly, taking another bite of her pancakes. "Mmm. These turned out really good if I do say so myself. You haven't tried any yet."

"I will, don't worry," Adam replied, noticing she was trying to change the subject. "I'm just wondering what's up with you."

"Nothing is up with me, sweetie." Susannah narrowed her eyes slightly as she eyed Adam's plate. "Now start eating your pancakes before they get cold."

Once they were both done eating, Adam offered to do the dishes. Susannah argued a little, but she finally conceded when he threatened to tickle her again and instead went upstairs to get ready. Adam put the plates, bowls, forks, and cups that had been used for cooking and eating in the hot water first, quickly washing them up and leaving them to dry.

But when he picked up the couple knives, he gasped quietly when the silver caught the light from the kitchen. His gaze moved to his left hand, to where his ring finger used to be, and he closed his eyes tightly as he tried to suppress the memory of what had happened in Italy. He clearly remembered the men holding his hand on the table, the knife hovering above it as it got closer and closer...

Susannah came back down the stairs, changed into a dark t-shirt and faded jeans, and entered the kitchen. "Forgot my phone..." she began, but her eyes narrowed with concern when she saw her fiance standing tensed in front of the sink with his eyes closed as she walked over to him. "Adam, you okay? Adam!"

Adam gasped quietly when he felt her hand on his arm as he jumped slightly, and he opened his eyes and quickly looked over at her. "Yeah, Susannah, I'm fine..." he muttered, turning his attention back to the knives as he prepared to run them under the water.

But Susannah could see the fear lingering in his gaze, and she sighed as she looked at what he was holding. "I'll finish these up," she told him, carefully taking the knives from his hand. "Why don't you go get ready while I do this?"

"Yeah... okay." Adam didn't really feel the need to argue as he made his way out of the kitchen and back upstairs to their room. He changed into a pair of jeans and ran a brush through his hair before looking at his weary expression in the mirror. He was home. He was safe. Nothing he had to endure in Italy was going to happen to him anymore. But yet, the memories were just as prevalent as if he was actually still there.

Then, he moved his gaze away from the mirror when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, and he looked down at Susannah. "Are you all right?" he wondered, seeing the concerned look on her face.

Susannah nodded, tightening her arms around him slightly so she wouldn't hurt him. "I'm just so glad you're home," she murmured, a thin line of tears forming in her eyes.

Adam's gaze saddened as he turned around, pulling her closer to him. Susannah rested her head on his chest, and he sighed as he ran his fingers through her hair. There wasn't really anything he could say in response, so he simply held her as he rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes. He was relieved to be home too, wrapped in the arms of the girl he loved. They stood together that way for neither one knew how long before Susannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile. Adam returned it, brushing some hair out of her face before leaning down to kiss her.

But when their lips where only inches apart, he stopped when he heard the doorbell echo around the house. Susannah laughed a little while Adam sighed quietly with frustration, pulling him into a quick kiss.

"I'll get it," she said, ruffling his hair slightly before leaving the bedroom.

Wondering who it was, Adam followed after her and walked downstairs as he straightened his hair out, watching as Susannah walked across the living room and opened the front door.

"Hey!" she greeted, a broad smile on her face as she hugged whoever was standing on the other side.

Adam came to a stop next to his fiancee, surprised to see who was outside their door. "Jay? Allie?"

A broad grin appeared on Jay's face. "Hey, there you are, Man!" he said, giving him a hug. Then, he turned his attention back to Susannah when he let go of him. "So, we're the first ones, I take it?"

"Yep," Susannah confirmed with a nod.

"Wait... what are you talking about?" Adam asked, wrapping his arms around Allie when she gave him a hug too.

Jay gave his best friend a smile before looking at Allie when she stood back next to him. "Mind starting to get the food out of the car?" he asked her quietly. "We should probably get that in the refrigerator."

"Food?" Adam repeated, confusion crossing his face as Allie walked away. "Jay, what the hell is going on?"

"Well, after everything that happened, I thought it might be fun to, well, have a get together to celebrate having you still with us," Jay explained with a grin appearing on his face.

Adam stared at him for a long moment, his words slowly sinking in. "So... what you're basically saying is you want to throw a party for me in my own house without letting me know?" he wondered.

Jay nodded, the grin lingering. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

Susannah tried to keep the smile off her face but wasn't completely able to as Adam rounded on her. "You knew about this?"

"Uh... I'm going to help Allie get the food out of the car," Susannah muttered, hurrying past Adam and Jay as she crossed the lawn to where their friends had parked.

Adam sighed as he turned back to his still smirking best friend. "Jay, I am going to hurt you," he stated.

But Jay only laughed. "Hey, come on, Man, lighten up," he replied. "What better way to put that nightmare behind us than to celebrate with a few friends, huh?"

"So, I take it you're not the only ones who are coming, then?" Adam said.

"Nope. Mike, Anna, Jillian, and Phil are coming too," Jay told him.

Adam sighed, running his hand through his hair as he leaned against the doorway. "You do know I wouldn't have agreed to this."

Jay nodded. "That's why I didn't ask," he replied.

"I wish I would have known about this, Jay..." Adam began.

"Well, as you said, then you wouldn't have agreed." Jay smiled at his best friend, patting his arm. "Just act like you're happy to see everyone, okay?"

A small smile appeared on Adam's face, watching as Susannah and Allie shut the car after they got all the food out of it. "I am happy I'm going to see all of you, Jay, that's not the point."

Jay's smile saddened slightly as he took a deep breath. "It'll be okay," he told him quietly when the two girls approached.

"All right, Jay, that's all of it," Allie said with a smile, stepping past Jay and Adam into the house with Susannah close behind.

Adam looked at the large box in his fiancee's hands before he and Jay began to follow them inside the house. "What's in there?" he asked, glancing at his best friend curiously.

Jay laughed a little. "You'll see when everyone else gets here," he answered.

They entered the kitchen, watching as the two girls set up the chips on the counter and put all the two liters of soda in the refrigerator to keep cold. Susannah also fit the large box inside before shutting the door, smiling as she turned to look at Adam.

"You're not too mad, are you, Addy?" she wondered.

Adam smiled, walking over to Susannah and wrapping his arms around her. "No," he told her. "But I _knew_ something was up with you."

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang again, and Adam saw Mike and Anna had arrived when he answered it. "Thanks," he said with a smile when the latter handed him a bouquet of multicolored flowers "We'll get these in water."

Before they could walk away from the door, Adam saw another car pull up, watching as Jillian climbed out from behind the wheel. But then, he raised an eyebrow when he saw Phil get out of the passenger seat, taking the girl's hand as they began to walk toward the house.

"So, they really are together now then?"

"Yeah," Susannah confirmed, taking the flowers from her fiance as she approached the door with Jay and Allie. "Amazing what a fender bender can do, huh?" But as they got closer, she sighed. "You know, we really owe Phil an apology. We blamed him for what Chris did..."

Anna nodded in agreement, looking at her boyfriend. "I think someone needs to start, though," she muttered.

Mike met her gaze as he rolled his eyes, but he didn't have time to say anything as Phil and Jillian approached them. "Hey, sorry we're a little late," the latter greeted, a smile appearing on her face as she hugged Adam. "I wish I could have seen your reaction when these guys showed up."

Adam laughed a little. "Well, I was definitely surprised," he replied before moving his gaze to the dark-haired man with her. "Phil, I want to thank you for your help. Things may have turned out differently otherwise."

A small smile appeared on Phil's face as he gave Adam a quick, one-armed hug. "Glad you're all right," he told him. "Glad things turned out the way they did."

Anna cleared her throat, elbowing Mike in the ribs. He sighed with irritation, watching as Phil turned to look at him curiously. The tension still between them was easily felt.

"Yes?" Phil wondered pleasantly, his smile lingering.

Mike glanced around at the rest of the group, seeing they were looking at him intently. "I'm... sorry," he mumbled, not able to meet the Straightedge Superstar's gaze.

Phil leaned a little closer to the other man as Jillian tried to suppress her laughter. "What was that? Couldn't hear ya there, Mike."

"Seriously?" Mike looked at Phil incredulously, but when he heard Anna clear her throat again, he sighed with frustration. "All right. I'm sorry. Did you hear that? S-o-r-r-y. Sorry. I was rash and shouldn't have blamed you. And... thanks for saving our asses too."

"That's all I wanted to hear, Mike," Phil said, his smile broadening as he patted him on the arm before he walked into the house with Adam and Jay, and Anna smiled as she went with Susannah and Allie to get the flowers in a vase. Mike grumbled under his breath as he took a step after her, but he stopped when Jillian placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I told you so," she muttered with a laugh, following after the girls. Mike mimicked her in a quiet, high-pitched tone so he wouldn't be heard, but then a smile appeared on his face as well as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

Once everyone was in the kitchen and gathered around the table, Jay cleared his throat as he looked around at all of his friends. "Before we start eating and having a good time and all that, I just wanted to say I'm grateful to still have my best friend, my brother, after everything we went through," he addressed them, a smile appearing on Adam's face when his gaze landed on him. "Plus I'm grateful we're all here together." He paused for a moment, a smirk appearing on his face. "Now, even though I invoked the wrath of Adam by springing this party he didn't want on him, what's important is we're all right and we're leaving that nightmare behind us. Allie, wanna bring the cake out?"

Allie smiled, breaking away from the group and pulling the large box out of the refrigerator before setting it on the table between everyone. Jay laughed a little as he reached forward and opened the flaps, pulling back the lid to reveal the cake inside.

Adam's eyes narrowed with confusion when he saw it. "Really, Jay?" he asked quietly.

"Well, Adam, they didn't have a _glad you survived_ cake, okay?" Jay replied, a broad smile on his face.

"Yeah, I understand that. But you couldn't have gotten something other than _it's a girl_?" Adam continued, eyeing the pink and white frosting and fancy lettering warily.

Jay shrugged. "Hey, what can I say?" he muttered. "We were in a hurry."

Despite himself, Adam couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head at the random cake his best friend had brought. He smiled down at his fiancee when Susannah wrapped her arms around him, winding an arm around her and pulling her closer as he kissed her head. He then watched as Jay started cutting the cake for people to start taking, and as he looked around at all his close friends, Adam realized that though he wouldn't have agreed to this party, he was glad they were all there.

He was glad to be home.

* * *

_He screamed in pain as his back was drenched in lemon juice, his rough skin from the sandpaper burning as though it had caught on fire..._

_He tried to back away from the men coming toward him, holding darts with their sharp points dipped in acid in their hands..._

_He didn't even have the strength to try to escape as the men held his left hand in place on a table, holding a knife over it..._

_He cringed, holding back a scream of pain as the whip came in contact with his already ravaged back, each strike more painful than the last..._

_He watched as the silver engagement ring he had given to the most important girl in his life fell to the hard floor in front of him, slowly picking it up and holding it in his palm as hot tears formed in his eyes and an extremely high pitch rang in his ears..._

* * *

Susannah gasped as her eyes snapped open when she heard a scream from beside her. She quickly sat up on the bed, seeing a look of clear distress on Adam's face as he continued to cry out in his sleep. "Adam, it's okay," she muttered, turning on the lamp beside their bed before placing her hands on his tense shoulders. "It's okay. You're okay..."

After a long moment, Adam quickly sat up and looked around the room with wide, anxious eyes as he tried to push her away. "Get away from me!" he shouted, moving out from under her hands as he got to his feet and walked away from the bed. He stopped by the closest wall, staring at it with an almost fearful look still lingering in his eyes.

"It's okay, Adam," Susannah repeated gently as she got out of bed, her expression darkening sadly as she cautiously approached him. When he didn't react to her, she lightly set her hand on his arm until he slowly turned to look at her. "Let's sit back down. Come with me, sweetheart."

Almost as though he was in a daze, Adam let Susannah pull him back to the bed. He sat back against the pillows with a sigh, his fiancee next to him. She immediately wrapped her arms around him tightly and simply held him. "You're safe. It's over," she murmured soothingly.

Adam blinked repeatedly as he tried to cast away the lingering flashes from his nightmare, winding his arms around her and taking a couple deep, shuddering breaths to try to calm himself down. "Susannah..."

Susannah smiled slightly as she brought him closer, running her fingers through his hair. "It's okay, it was just a dream," she told him quietly, her heart breaking. "It's over, love."

They stayed like that for neither one knew how long, Adam feeling more relaxed from Susannah's efforts to comfort him. Then, he sighed as he pulled her into his lap and rested his chin on top of her head. "I thought after last night I was going to be okay," he said in nearly a whisper. "But now I can't even close my eyes without seeing it all again. It feels so real..."

"That's what I'm here for," Susannah replied just as quietly, resting her head on his chest. "I'll be with you through this, Adam."

Sighing, Adam tilted her head up so she was looking at him. "Susannah, this isn't your burden," he muttered, running his fingers through her hair once before wrapping his arm around her again. "Thank God you didn't experience it, but this is mine to deal with."

"I experienced enough." Susannah sat up a bit, placing her hand on his cheek. "Having to watch you get taken and not be able to do anything to having my own nightmares and to just imagine what you were being put through... The worst feeling was knowing you were in pain and I wasn't able to get to you. I have never felt anything worse in my life. And then when we had you back, having to almost marry Chris and then being afraid we lost you... I can't explain it.

"But yet, somehow... Here we are. You and me. Together. After all that happened, we still have each other. I honestly can't tell you how the hell that worked, but it did." Susannah paused for a moment, giving him a kind smile. "I love you, Adam. I've been with you through a difficult time before, and I'm going to do it again... You don't have to tell me what happened, but just know that you're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

Adam looked at his fiancee with surprise before a small smile appeared on his face. "Well, I guess if I have to be stuck with you, this won't be so bad," he replied quietly, running his thumb over her cheek lightly. "I love you too."

But then, he gasped quietly as he looked at his arm, and Susannah looked at him with alarm. "What's wrong?" she asked.

However, Adam just shook his head. "It's nothing..."

Susannah's concerned gaze followed his, seeing he was looking down at his right arm. Sighing, she lightly traced the "Y2J" Chris had carved into his skin with her fingertip, knowing it was going to be a lingering reminder about what he had to go through in Italy. "All scars heal in time," she told him in nearly a whisper, reaching up and brushing his hair behind his ear. "Even the ones you see when you close your eyes."

"I know," Adam said, trying to give her a true smile. But she could tell by the look in his eye it was taking a lot of effort. "But there is one thing that can't be fixed."

Sighing, Susannah took his left hand before kissing it softly, ignoring the ring finger that was missing. "It's something to get used to, but it won't be impossible," she replied.

"Chris was pretty adamant on making sure we didn't go through with the wedding, huh?" Adam asked quietly.

But surprisingly, a small smile appeared on Susannah's face. "I admit, normally it would be pretty hard to get married without the left ring finger," she answered, her eyes gleaming. "But I've been working on something since we've gotten home. I'm determined not to let Chris beat me. And I know that typically you're not really supposed to reveal anything before the wedding, but I can make an exception."

"Oh?" Adam watched his fiancee curiously as she released his hand and got off the bed, walking over to the dresser by the door. She knelt down and opened the bottom drawer, digging around until she pulled something out before crossing the room and sitting down by him again. He saw with surprise that she was holding a double-layered black string with a couple white beads evenly placed around it.

"I told you I wouldn't let him beat me," Susannah said, sounding proud of herself. "It's not done yet since the ring has to go on it, but you get the idea."

Adam slowly reached forward and took the necklace from her hand, holding it in his own for a long moment as a thin line of tears formed in his eyes. "Susannah, I honestly don't know what to say to this," he muttered, shaking his head slightly as he blinked his tears away.

Susannah leaned forward and met his lips in a soft kiss. "Then don't say anything," she told him, taking the necklace back and setting it on the small table beside the bed.

Smirking, Adam pulled Susannah closer into a more intense kiss as she moved closer, holding her tightly. The memories of what he had endured in Italy were still very vivid in his mind, but with her, he knew they were going to be easier to manage. He smiled at her when they broke the kiss for a moment, running one hand through her hair as his other ran up and down her back. Though he had almost been taken away from her, he still had Susannah after everything he had gone through, and that night, that was all that mattered to him.

**The End**

**Author's Note**: All right, so even though it says "the end" right there, there is one update left for this story. Hope you liked it, and please review! Thanks!


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